
BookA__G:._6_5' 



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7^ 



A HISTORY 



OHAEACTEE AKD AOHIEYEMEE"TS 



OF THE SO-CALLED 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 



BY 

AAEON GOODRICH 



"As the most obscure soldier of an army may sometimes by a fiery arrow destroy the strongest 
fortress of the enemy, so may the weakest man, when he makes himself the courageous champion of 
truth, overcome the most sohd ramparts of superstition and error." Manou. 



WITE NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATION'S, AND AN APPENDIX. 



\^:-mi- 



NEW YORK: 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 
549 & 551 BROADWAY. 

1874. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S74, 

By AAEON GOODRICH, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



/ 



TO THE MEMORY 

OF TOE 

PATEIOT, SOnOLAR, JURIST, STATESMAN, AND FRIEND, 

WILLIAM HENEY SEWAKD, 

WHO, 

DURING A LONG AND EVENTFUL LIFE, 

SUFFERED PATIENTLY, AND LABORED EARNESTLY AND WISELY, 

FOR THE ADV ANCEMENT OF HIS RACE, 

THIS WORK 

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 

By AARON GOODRICH. 



A few months before his lamented death, while this work was yet 
in 2^rogress, Hon. William H. Seward had kindly permitted its 
dedication to himself hut, in the interval which elapsed before its 
completion, the nation was called to mourn the loss of one of her 
greatest so7is, and the author that of a revered and beloved friend. 
It is, therefore, as a tribute to his memory, that this volume is in- 
scribed. 



" Gold is the most precious of all commodities ; gold constitutes treasure, 
and he who possesses it has all he needs in this world, as also the means of 
rescuing souls from purgatory, aiid restoring them to the enjoyment of para- 
dise.'''' — (CoLUMBrrs's letter to the sovereigns, July 7, 1503.) 



" When Simon saw that through laying on of the apostle's hands the Holy 
Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, ' Give me also this power, 
that, on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.' But 
Peter said unto him, ' Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast 
thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.' " — (Acts viii. 
18-20.") 



PEE FAO E. 



In giving the present work to the public, in sending it forth 
a single champion against a host of opponents, many of whom 
are the flower of literary chivalry, the author is aware that its 
reception will not be altogether a friendly one ; he has, however, 
devoted several years of thought and study to the subject which 
is now imperfectly treated, and the deeper he has dived into 
the secrets of unpublished or forgotten history, the more firm 
have become his convictions that some proclamation of the 
truth should be made, some protest entered against the further 
propagation of a falsehood under the name of history. 

If, in his attempt to do this, he should appear too solely to 
attach himself to one side of the case, too severely to censure, 
and to dwell too particularly on the errors and crimes of his 
hero, on the partiality and inaccuracy of historians, let it be 
remembered that for three centuries only one side of the case has 
been presented, the one laudatory of Columbus ; that during all 
that time nothing has been left unwritten which could excite the 
enthusiasm and admiration of the reader in his behalf: histories 
have hitherto been written solely to praise him ; the writer ap- 
pears, therefore, as the self-constituted counsel for the opposite 
side, the vindicator, however inadequate, of the truth of history ; 
he would show the injustice which has been done to worthy men 
who lived when Columbus lived, whom the latter and his advo- 
cates ruthlessly assail, and woidd prove that what has hitherto 
been termed the history of a great man is but a gilded lie, a 



vi PREFACE. 

■wliited sepulchre, fair without, but within full of rottenness and 
dead men's bones. 

In this attempt he departs widely from the plan of any for- 
mer history of the discovery of America ; he treats some subjects 
which at the first blush appear irrelevant, or at any rate far- 
fetched, in their association with the inscription on the title-page ; 
yet he feels assured that upon reflection the reader will find no 
subject broached which has not a direct bearing on the state- 
ments contained in the life of Columbus, the facts revealed, or 
the theory which is inevitably dedaced from these facts. 

"Works of genius, human greatness, cannot, it would seem, be 
too largely or too enthusiastically extolled ; the historian should, 
however, bear in mind that justice more than enthusiasm is his 
mission : however small a portion of the history of humanity his 
work may embrace, however ardently he may be enamored of 
his subject, lie should see to it that he does not commit injustice 
toward any individual, land, race, or age ; that he sacrifices no 
truth, immolates no worthy name to the shrine which he would 
honor. 

This conception of the higher moral duties of the historian is 
too rarely entertained ; the learning of antiquity is ignored that 
the pride of modern times may be inflated, great names of all 
ages are unjustly thrust into oblivion or condemned to ignominy, 
that some one or more of their contemporaries may be made to 
embody all the greatness and virtue whiicli belonged to a gener- 
ation. Examples of this will rise innumerable to the mind of 
the scholar and thinker. 

In many lands, in many races, humanity has risen to the 
acme of intelligence, then sunk again into the insignificance of 
ignorance and superstition. As centuries have succeeded centu- 
ries in the great calendar of time, races and nations in regular 
rotation have had their childhood, their manhood, their old age : 
their childhood, simple and credulous ; their manhood, vigorous, 
and, as far as things of this world can be, perfect ; their old age, 
which sinks them into the puerility of childhood without its hope 



PEEFACE. yii 

and promise ; witli some, old age has terminated in moral or 
actual death and extinction, but as each falls into this sad and 
inevitable dotage, another race, youthful and vigorous, springs 
up, which must tread the same path, attain substantially the 
same perfection, and decline into the same insignificance. Not 
without thought did the wise man of the Hebrews declare, when 
his race was at the height of its strength and glory, that there is 
no new thing under the sun ; the hopes, aspirations, emotions, 
plans, and j)rojects, which to the youth appear a part of himself 
and his generation, individualizing it and him especially, have 
all been experienced and projected before him, by his sire, 
grand- and great-grandsires ; even so, the science, learning, and 
ci^dlization which appear to pretentious modern times especially 
to distinguish them, and to prove the law of progression, had 
been discovered, achieved, attained by the remote nations of an- 
tiquity, in what are termed dark and prehistoric ages. 

The injustice done is not altogether willful ; the present is 
surrounded as with an atmosphere by its great thoughts and 
achievements, while in the past these are only represented by 
isolated results or obscure traditions : what wonder, then, that the 
men of the present should regard the times in which they live, 
the age in which their race attains its perfect manhood, as teem- 
ing with more thought and brain, throwing greater light, and 
nearer grasping perfection, than those gone by, each of which in 
its turn looted with like self-gratulation on its own attainments, 
and with like misconception and injustice on those of its prede- 
cessors ? 

It is with a conviction of this great fact, with a belief that 
there is no new thing under the sun, that races and nations rise 
inevitably in turn, and in turn as inevitably fall, that the writer, 
while endeavoring to sink the so-called Christopher Columbus to 
his just level in the estimation of posterity, and raise to theirs 
those of his contemporaries whose fame was sacrificed to create 
the fictitious glory with which he has been endowed, also en- 
deavors to rehabilitate the memory of past generations whose 



viii PREFACE. 

achievements have been ignored or denied for the especial ag- 
grandizement of modern times. Hence the chapters on the An- 
cients and the Northmen. 

The writer may therefore ascribe a twofold object to his 
work : 

1. To place in its true light the character of a man the 
importance of whose connection with the history of America has 
been magnified ; in whom have been incorporated, at the sac- 
rifice of justice and truth, the thoughts, deeds, and glory which 
belong in fiir greater measure to his contemporaries. 

2. To enter a protest, however feeble, against the spirit 
of the age, which would incorporate in modern times all the 
greatness of past ages, and arrogates to itself the honor of in- 
venting: or discoverino; sciences and arts which had beeu carried 
to as great perfection as human intelligence will permit, before 
the so-called history of the world began. 

With this twofold object in view, seeking ever the guidance 
of justice and truth, the author has written the present work. 
Its success or failure cannot alter his convictions that the cause 
he has espoused is a righteous one, and that it is worthy a far 
abler pen than his, not only to rehabilitate those who have been 
unjustly contemned, but also to cast down idols which have be- 
come the objects of base and ignoble, because blind and unthink- 
ing, worship. 

Aaeon Goodrich. 

St. Paul, Minnesota, Juhj 6, 1873. 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



CHAPTER I. 

AECHITECTUEAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE ANCIENTS. 

It Las been too mucli the custom of modern writers to dis- 
parage the achievements of the ancients, that they may thereby 
magnify the deeds and exploits of those in whose interests they 
write ; hence we are tauglit that, in ancient times, the facilities 





Baalbec. 



for promulgating knowledge were small, the ideas entertained 
of astronomy and the form and size of our planet primitive to 
a ridiculous extent ; the ships rude in construction and unable to 



2 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

leave the coast ; while many of the phenomena of JSTature, which 
are now in daily use, were totally unknown. How unjust are 
these teachings we will endeavor briefly to expose. 

It is universally admitted that one branch of knowledge lea^s 
almost inevitably to another ; that the whole vast array of sci- 
ences and arts move in a circle, linked hand-in-hand, as it were, 
one with another ; when, therefore, we find a nation or people 
incontestably preeminent in one or more of these, v,c may, should 
their learning and achievements have fallen into oblivion, natu- 
rally infer that in other branches they equally excelled. 

As the modern traveler visits the fallen cities of Asia, and 
pauses amid the ruins of Babylon, Nineveh, Tadmor in the 
Desert, grand even in their decay, he can scarce imagine an 
ignorant people inhabiting such noble structures, still less plan- 
ning and erecting them ; these fallen stones and prostrate col- 
umns, in their colossal size and beauty, put to shame the fairest 
of our modern architectural monuments. We allow that here the 
people of the past were preeminent, we concede them perfection 
in the extraordinary, yet deny them the knowledge of even the 
ordinary attainments of less civilized nations. Let us, however, 
rapidly review their achievements, not only in architecture, of 
which living proof exists, but in geography, astronomy, naviga- 
tion ; let us study somewhat the facts which have been handed 
down to us, obscured by superstitious constructions, metaphori- 
cal or poetical language, and that inevitable and too often im- 
penetrable veil which the mighty hand of Time casts over all 
things ; then, following the laws of cause and effect, let us arrive, 
if possible, at a more just appreciation of the mighty nations 
that have preceded us. 

The earliest architectural monument of which we find any 
mention is that of t\\e Tower of Babel ; though, indeed, Josephus, 
speaking of the learning and achievements of the sons of Scth, 
writes : " They studiously turned their attention to the knowl- 
edge of the heavenly bodies and their configurations. And, lest 
their science should at any time be lost among men, and what 
they had previously acquired should perish, .... they erected 
two columns, the one of brick and the other of stone, and en- 
graved upon each of them their discoveries, so that in case the 
brick pillar should be dissolved by the waters, the stone one 
might survive to teach men the things engraved upon it, and at 



TOWER OF BABEL. 



the same time inform them that a brick one had formerly been 
also erected by them. It remains even to the present day in the 

land of Siriad." ' 

This interesting account of the antediluvian Sn-iadic cohmms 
excepted, the Tower of Babel remains first in the list of the ar- 
chitectural efforts of the ancients. The Hebrew tradition has 
most probably given us but an erroneous idea of the reasons m- 
ductive to the undertaldng ; we contend that it is too much the 
rule among modern writers upon antiquity, to take for granted 
the superstition, and, we may almost so express it, mfantile ig- 
norance, of what they term the primitive races. Scientihc re- 
search has proved the world to be far older than biblical history 
would lead us to suppose ; the so-called primitive races must, 
then have had an earlier origin, and have attained a more ad- 
vanced stage of civilization, than is generally accorded them, 
tradition tells us that Babel was intended to become a temple 
for the worship of Baal, which worship was that of the sun, 
moon, stars, light, heat. Astronomy was long a study in the 
East ; we have read how, even in an antediluvian period, the 
sons of Seth had made and recorded their discoveries, and we 
know that the Hindoos were at an early age far advanced in this 
science The flat plains and clear skies of Babylon are admirably 
adapted for observatories, and the learned men inhabiting them, 
passing their lives in the contemplation of the heavenly bodies 
mio-ht easily be supposed to worship these by the unenlightened 
ma^'sses, who, in their ignorance, might adopt the apparent reli- 
gion -We know that to this day the enlightened Persian, the 
so-called worshiper of the sun, when accused of such jn '^ct will 
reply, not without some contempt for the ignorance of the Ohris- 
tia^ that in paying respect to the Deity he turns toward the 
sun, the greatest of his works, but no more thinks of worship- 
ing that orb than does the Christian devotee the emblems which 

decorate his churches. . j t ^ 

If the Tower of Babel was, as we believe, intended lor an 
astronomical observatory, or gnomen, the confusion ^y^^ch r^. 
suited in the abandonment of the enterprise is not diihcuit to 
account for; the most learned men of the land and of the 
countries round about must have been assembled to superintend 

1 It has been said that Josephus here confounds Seth with the Egyptian Pharaoh 
Sesostris. 



4 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

its erection," and what more probable tlian that these same 
learned men, each eager for the adoption of his own peculiar 
views, should desire them carried out at the expense of those 
of others ? Hence disagreement, contests, division, and the fin^l 
abandonment of the work ; the diverse languages spoken by the 
learned of different countries, which were unintelligible jargon 
to the ignorant, might easily have been believed by the masses 
to have caused the dispersal, and would account fur the tradi- 
tional confusion of tongues. Tlie vast pile amid tlie ruins of 
Babylon, called Birs Nimroud, is supposed by many curious an- 
tiquarians to be the remains of this once famous tower; Kimrod, 
desiring to embellish the metropolis of his vast empire, is said 
to have completed it, raising it to the height of seven hundred 
feet. 

The great city of Babylon, the oldest and largest of which 
we have any account, is itself now but a vast and chaotic heap of 
ruins. Herodotus has, however, *left us a detailed and vivid de- 
scription of its splendors as well as of the greatness of its 
sovereigns. Fifty miles square, surrounded by a wall eighty- 
seven feet through at the base, and, though three hundred and 
fifty feet high, so broad at the summit that four chariots could 
drive abreast, one hundred gates of massy brass giving entrance 
to it, the first aspect of this city must have been imposing indeed. 
" Yet," writes the Father of History, " its internal magnificence 
exceeds whatever has come within my knowledge." May we 
not echo the sentiment, even at the present stage of advanced 
civilization f Where shall we now find such a palace as that of 
Nebuchadnezzar, six miles in circumference, entered by gates of 
wrought brass and adorned with statues of gold and silver ? Here 
were the hanging-gardens, styled even by the Greeks, that most 
refined and artistic nation, one of the wonders of the M'oi-ld ; an 
artificial mountain four hundred feet high, terraced on all sides; 
the tallest trees of the forest gre^v upon these terraces, Ibuntains 
and flowers adorned them ; the massive stone pillars and arches 
supporting them were protected from the action of moisture 
from the soil by sheetings of lead and zinc, the soil was irri- 

' In the " Taschal Chronicle," written in the fourth century, we find the following: 
"About the time of the construction of the tower, a certain Indian of the race of 
Arphaxad made his appearance, a wise man, and an astronomer, whose name was 
Andubarius; and it was he that first instructed the Indians in the science of as- 
tronomy." 



BABYLON, TADMOR, ETC. 5 

gated by means of hydraulic machinery which drew up water from 
the Euphrates. The magnificent Temple of Belus, the Jupiter 
Belus of the Greeks, was one of the chief among the superb 
buildino-s of Babylon, and indeed the beauties of that city alone 
would occupy more space than our brief chapter will allow ; these 
have all disappeared. ''Babylon is fallen. The heautrj of the 
Chaldees' excellency is laid low ; " a few ruined mounds point the 
place where once she stood ; the stones of her mighty walls and 
superb temples have builded cities which in the days of her glory 
were not known ; those uncouth mounds have indeed served 
somewhat to demonstrate how far more advanced were knowl- 




Taumok. 



edge and civilization two thousand years ao;o than the pride of 
modern ages would care to have known. Here were found glass 
of exquisite transparency, ornaments of fine earthen-ware, ala- 
baster, and marble, and, still greater the discovery, the magnify- 
ing-lens, which is called a modern invention. 

How many other great ruins might we not name, that silently 
testify to the greatness of the past ! Baalbec, with its airy col- 
umns, so light and graceful against the eastern sky, that the be- 
holder cannot realize that they are formed of stones similar to the 
huge masses fallen around ; glorious old Thebes, where the silent 



6 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Sphinx has sat for more than four thousand years, and whose 
beautiful monuments were conveyed by the greatest of modern 
conquerors to adorn the greatest of modern cities ; Tadmor in the 
Desert, the far-famed Palmyra of the Greeks and Romans, built 
or adorned by the wise man of Israel — the beautiful words of Yol- 
ney as he contemplated its ruins may well apply to the many 
fallen cities of the East : " Here once flourished an opulent city ; 
here was the seat of a powerful empire. A busy crowd once cir- 
culated in these streets now so solitary. "Within these walls, 
where a mournful silence now reigns, the noise of the arts, the 
shouts of joy and festivity, incessantly resounded ; these piles of 
marble were regular palaces ; these prostrate pillars adorned the 
majesty of temples ; these ruined galleries surrounded public 
places. Here a numerous people assembled for the sacred duties 
of religion, or the anxious cares of subsistence ; here Industry, 
parent of Enjoyment, collected the riches of all climes ; here the 
purple of Tyre was exchanged for the precious thread of Serica ; 
the soft tissues of Cashmere for the sumptuous tapestry of Lydia ; 
the amber of the Baltic for the pearls and perfumes of Arabia ; 
the gold of Ophir for the tin of Thule. 

" Now naught remains of its vast domination but a doubtful 
and empty remembrance ! To the tumultuous throng which cir- 
culated under these porticoes, has succeeded the solitude of 
death. The opulence of a commercial city is changed to hideous 
poverty. The palaces of kings are become a den of wild beasts ; 
flocks fold on the area of the temple, and unclean reptiles and 
creeping things inhabit the sanctuary of the Most High." 

Thus it is with the glorious cities of the past, thus must it 
also be with those of the present ; even so shall the traveler yet 
meditate in solitude where now are London, Paris, and become 
amazed at the vast pile of ruins which was once the great Cathe- 
dral of Cologne — Time must annihilate all. With what admira- 
tion mingled with awe do we not, then, gaze at the gigantic 
structure overlooking the plains of Jizeh (Gish) ! Here Time has 
been powerless, during four thousand years, to destroy, and the 
Great Pyramid has been preserved through all these ages, per- 
haps to teach us the great moral lesson of our own insignifi- 
cance, and that what we term progress may sometimes be retro- 
gression. 

For centm-ies it was believed that the Great Pyramid, like 



THE GEEAT PYRAMID. 7 

many of the other more modern pyramidal structures which are 
found in the valley of the Nile, was destined as a place of sepul- 
ture for Egyptian kings, but the curious researches of many 
learned men in this century have opened a wider and far more 
interesting field for the antiquarian, and have demonstrated that 
this vast monument was raised to "be an eternal standard for 
weights and measures, also for an astronomical observatory ; so 
perfectly are the statements made, in support of this theory, in 
accordance with the measurement of the pyramid, that it is im- 
possible to regard as accidental such wonderful concurrence. 

That the Great Pyramid was not intended for a receptacle of 
the dead is evident from various facts, the foremost of which is 
that no hieroglyphics or inscriptions are found within or without. 
It is well kno\\Ti that the Egyptians never entombed their dead 
without some such inscription being placed on the monument. 

When the Great Pyramid was in its original state, that is to 
say, when each of the angular sides, rising from a perfect rec- 
tangular base, and joining in a perfect point at the summit, was 
covered with polished beveled casing-stones, it presented a per- 
fect geometrical figure, its height being to twice its base as the 
diameter of a circle to its circumference. This assertion, first 
made by Mr. John Taylor in his remarkable work on the pyra- 
mid, has since been confirmed by the learned research of Prof. 
Piazzi Smyth, Royal Astronomer of Scotland; it was contra- 
dicted by many professed antiquarians and Egyptologists, who, 
in their measurement of the base of the pyramid, had failed to 
make allowance for the heap of rubbish which has accumulated 
on the rocky platform upon which it is built, as also to ascertain 
with any certainty how far the marble casing w^hich once cov- 
ered the pyramid extended beyond its present limits; these diffi- 
culties were finally removed by the finding of the sockets cut in 
the solid rock base, wherein the corner-stones of the pyramid 
were set, and the important discovery, by Colonel Howard Vyse, 
of two of the white marble casing-stones, in situ, a discovery 
which, besides enabling the pyramid to be measm*ed correctly, also 
permits us to form some idea of its external appearance in its pris- 
tine perfection — smooth, polished marble " shining resplendent 
afar " in a sloping plane, the workmanship as exquisite as that of 
an optician, the joints so fine as to be almost imperceptible to the 
close observer, and this with stones nearly five feet high, eight 



8 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

feet broad, and twelve feet long ; tlie cement joining these two 
stones is as firm and solid as it was four thousand years ago. 
Portions of other casing-stones h^ve been found, efforts to sun- 
der which at the joints have resulted in the breaking of the mar- 
ble itself, without accomplishing the object. 

Since the above discoveries, every attempt to measure the 
pyramid has served to bring a nearer result, to prove the per- 
fection of the plan ; and, if there are yet some fractional dilier- 
ences, learned geometricians avow that the more perfect their 
means of measurements, the more perfect the result shows the 
form of the pyramid to be.^ The self-conceit of the modern 
man of science must receive a slight shock when he is forced to 
admit that the facilities for making perfect measurements were 
greater four thousand years ago than at the present day. When 
the French academicians visited Egypt in 1799, they found, much 
to their astonishment and admiration, that the orientation of the 
pyramid (the correspondence of its four corners with the four 
cardinal points) was, exact within a fraction, and nearer ap- 
proaching exactness than any modern orientation ; and it has since 
been found that the fractional difference they noted diminishes 
as greater perfection of calculation is employed, and would per- 
haps totally disappear should modern science be able to dis- 
cover the means einj)loyed by the builders of the pyramid to fix 

^ Prof. Smyth, perhaps the most learned of modern writere on the suljject, 
saj's : " Modern theoretical science no doubt both can compute and actually has com- 
puted the proportion to a far greater degree of closeness, to three hundred places of 
decimals, for instance ; but modern science is unfortunately very unequal. Some 
theoretical points are pursued to an excessive extent, past all visible use, while the 
application of others to Nature and art is left in a sadly crude condition; and with 
regard to realizing the proportion now spoken of in a building, the moderns have 
never reached any thing at all equal to the accuracy of the Great Pyramid. . . . 
In their measurement of the pyramid, the moderns have had an advantage over 
the primeval builders of it; and how have they come off in the trial? Why, it has 
been shown that the exactness of the pyramid has improved under every advance 
of exactness in the measures applied to it; and whether the differences of modem 
measures, in their first stage of coarseness, differed from each other by several degrees 
or subsequently by several minutes, and latterly by a few seconds only, the pyramid 
itself was ever found in the mean position among them, like the bull's eye in the 
centre of a target, though the bullet-holes of bad shooters might be found more fre- 
quently at all points of its circumference ; and whose marks, therefore, seen by them- 
selves, wovild give subsetiuent visitors exceeding trouble in concluding precisely what 
the marksmen had been firing at." — (Prof. Smyth, " Our Inheritance in the Great 
Pyramid," chap, ii., p. 26.) 



OEIENTATION OF PYRAMID. 9 

orientation. The fractional inexactness whicli occurs in meas- 
urements may also be the result of the different standards of 
measure employed at the present day from those of the Egyp- 
tians four thousand years ago, which appear to have been much 
more minute. Prof. Smyth, after a succession of ingenious 
calculations, declares that the standard measure employed at the 
building of the Great Pyramid was an inch, this pyramidal inch 
being yro.o w,oto" P^^^ ^^ ^-^^ earth's axis of rotation, and within 
one-thousandth part the same as the present English inch. 
Should this wonderful assertion be correct, and to us there ap- 
pears no reason to doubt its exactness, what a perfect standard 
of measurement is here handed down to us, and with what ad- 
vantage might it not be adopted ! It is superior even to the 
French metre, which is declared to be to.-ow.too" ^^ ^^^® quadrant 
of the earth's meridian, science having shown that much varia- 
tion may exist in the shape of that meridian, but fixing the unit 
measure by the earth's axis at once gives us a perfect and invari- 
able standard. 

The Great Pyramid, then, considered in its external phase, 
after its completion, presented an exact geometrical solid figure, 
(about seven hundred, and sixty feet broad at the base, and in 
vertical height about five hundred feet), perfect in orientation, 
perfect in workmanship, polished and smooth as glass; thus it 
stood for three thousand years, a sealed and wondrous mystery 
to the beholder, exciting in the ardent imagination of the East 
visions of unheard-of wealth, secrets, spells long forgotten, con- 
cealed within its walls ; yet its silent majesty was long respected, 
perhaps because a subterranean entrance or descending passage 
which existed in this as in other pyramids, was considered in 
early ages as the only entrance, and prevented cm'iosity from 
sooner beginning the work of destruction, which has, alas ! in 
modern times advanced only too rapidly. 

In 820 A. D. the Caliph Al-Mamoun, his cupidity excited by 
the legends aforesaid of hidden treasures, determined to enter 
the pyramid ; the subterranean entrance was now totally con- 
cealed by sand ; the workmen of the caliph therefore began ruth- 
lessly to quarry into the polished marble surface of the north side. 
Long and laborious was the task ; at last, aided by the sound of 
a falling stone, they reached a narrow passage, the primitive 
subterranean one through which the Rgmans and others had 



10 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

penetrated downward into tbe building ; but the stone which had 
fallen, once a part of the polished ceiling of this passage, revealed 
by its tall another, ascending instead of descending ; a portcullis 
of stone, which, though evidently intended to be raised, was too 
heavy for the present workers to move, obstructed their advance; 
round it they therefore quarried an entrance into the passage ; 
thus unexpectedly revealed, this led them to what is now termed 
the Grand Gallery, which ascends at an angle of 20°, and is one 
hundred and fifty feet long, twenty-eight feet high, built of hard, 
polished cyclopean stone ; from this gallery the eager seekers for 
treasure, believing they had now reached the goal, emerged into 
the final chamber, which was thirty-four feet long, seventeen 
broad, and nineteen high, built of polished granite so exqui- 
sitely finished and cemented that the joints could hardly be per- 
ceived on the closest inspection ; yet the blocks thus finished 
were so large that eight roofed the apartment, eight floored it, 
eight flagged the ends, and sixteen the sides ; but beauty and 
symmetry were alike lost upon the eager horde that first broke the 
solitude and silence which for thousands of years had reigned in 
this mystic recess : they had hoped to find treasures untold with- 
in its walls, and it contained nothing save an empty stone cofier 
without a lid ! They abandoned the chamber in disgust. 

The work of destruction on the outside of the pyramid com- 
menced two hundred years later ; the exquisite marble casing- 
stones and much of the solid masonry were carried away, and 
served to build many edifices in the city of Cairo. The vast 
pyramid, though desecrated and shorn of all its pristine beauty, 
still remains a mystery, reminding the traveler that " Time sad- 
ly overcometh all things and is now dominant, and sitteth on a 
Sphinx, and looketh into Memphis and old Thebes, while her 
sister Oblivion reclineth semi-somnorous on a pyramid, gloriously 
triumphing, making puzzles of Titanian erections, and turning 
old glories into dreams. History sinketh beneath her cloud. 
The traveler, as he passeth amazedly through these deserts, ask- 
eth of her who hath builded them, and she mumbleth some- 
thing, but what it is he heareth not." ' 

In latter days those who visited the Great Pyramid, the 
King's or Porphyry Chamber, the empty coffer, began to con- 

* "Remarks on Mummies," Sir Thomas Browne : Wilkins's edition. 



NOT A RECEPTACLE FOR THE DEAD. 



11 



sider more deeply into the matter. True it had long been ac- 
cepted as a fact that the pyramid was built to receive the care- 
fully-embalmed body ot some great Egyptian king ; but if so, 
why was the coffer (the only object in the chamber) empty, 
without inscription ? Why was the chamber ventilated by ad- 
mirably-constructed air-holes, which demonstrated the intention 
of the builders that it should be visited with impunity ? These 
questions, indeed, remained unanswered. The riddle was un- 
solved till, within the last twenty years, a school of men arose, 




Plains of Gish. 

represented indeed but by the smallest numbers, who assert that 
the Great Pyramid M'as built for the noble purpose of preserving 
an unalterable standard for weights and measures. Yery curious 
have been the results of the investigations which ensued ; we 
can, however, but briefly mention a few. 

It was found that the English measure for wheat, called a 
quarter, was exactly one-fourth of the cubic contents of the cof- 
fer. The chamber is exquisitely constructed to further physicnl 
experiments ; protected on all sides from heat and cold by one 
hundred and eighty feet of solid masonry, the temperature 



12 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

would be invariably C8° Falir., or 20° Centigrade, being one- 
fifth of tlie distance between the freezing and boiling points of 
water. The temperature of the country, we know, has not 
changed, the vegetation being the same as that described by 
Herodotus. The porphyry coffer is hewn out of one solid rock, 
so that when struck it gives forth a bell-like sound. Here, then, 
the standard measure of capacity may become a standard meas- 
ure of weight ; the filtered water of the Nile, drawn up from a 
reservoir in this cool, invariable temperature, would serve the 
purpose, as does distilled water at the present day ; the standard 
measure of capacity would therefore be the interior of the cofter, 
and the standard measure of weight the weight of its contents 
in water at a temperature of 20°, the coffer at the same time 
typifying the earth's mean density with great exactness. "We 
have already spoken of the measure of length, the inch, as if to 
confirm our belief that this was the standard. Over the last 
door that leads to the king's chamber are five lines, drawn par- 
allel ; these present the pyramidal cubit, each cubit fifty inches, 
each inch -sinr.Trlir.inrTr ^^ *^® earth's axis of rotation. 

Nor is the measurement of time forgotten. The three years 
of three hundred aDd sixty-five days, and our leap-year of three 
hundred and sixty-six, the twelve months of the year, the seven 
days of the week, are all typified, not in figures or hieroglyphics, 
but by the simple overlapping or grooving of the polished stones 
in the gallery, antechamber, and king's chamber. If all this be 
accidental coincidence, then verily is accident more wonderful 
than forethought ! Further proofs are not wanting in support 
of this theory. The ancient Saxon chaldron, a measure for 
wheat, whence the English are said to derive their quarter 
(which represents one -fourth of the contents of the chaldron) 
bears strong resemblance in dimensions to the pyramidal coffer, 
and may very possibly have been transmitted from that source. 
The tradition that the coft\?i* '^vas destined for some such purpose 
as the one we ascribe to it, is evidently prevalent in the East. 
Hekekyan Bey, of Constantinople, writes of this chest : " De- 
posited by the Aryans in the sanctuary of the first pyramid, as 
a record of their standard metric system." 

The vast functions of the pyramid were evidently still more 
numerous. The sun's rays, obstructed by its sides and apex, east 
shadows on the sandy plain, which, as they wax and wane, indi- 



WEIGHT, MEASUEE, ASTRONOMY. 13 

cate tlie hours of tlie day. The plain of Gish formed one great 
dial, superior to the small metallic one proportionately to its size ; 
here the heavenly bodies record their own history, and lay down 
their own charts. Astronomy, indeed, played no small part in 
the building of the pyramid ; through the long inclined passage 
the north-star was seen in 1817 at the period of its culmination, 
a fact which excited great interest, and led to the inference that 
the polar star occupied the same position when the pyramid was 
built : calculations were made, and it was found that, though the 
present polar star could not have been visible, owing to the pre- 
cession of equinoxes, the star a Draconis, which must have been 
the polar star four thousand years ago, would have occupied the 
same position. The builders of the pyramid appear, therefore, 
not only to have fixed its orientation fi'om this observation of the 
star, but to have intended the passage itself to be an observatory 
whence accurate astronomical calculations could be made ; we 
need not add that they must have been learned in astronomy to 
base such practical operations upon that science. 

Here, then, we have the standard measurement of weight, ca- 
pacity, length, time, the practical uses of astronomy, and wonder- 
ful facilities for making observations and correct calculations 
in that science, all preserved in one building four thousand 
years ago, by a people who, to arrive at such wonderful accuracy 
of result, must have long been versed and preeminent in all scien- 
tific knowledge (for we cannot bring ourselves to believe in the 
sudden divine revelation of this knowledge which reason tells 
us can only be acquired by, and was only intended by the Om- 
nipotent to reward, the thought, wisdom, and patient industry 
of generations). " Wise in all the learning of the Egyptians," 
was an expression in the days of Moses and of Solomon ; we 
to-day find that we are not wise in all the learning of the Egyp- 
tians, that our knowledge is often infinitely inferior to theirs, 
that we are unable even justly to measure and calculate their 
work. Can we believe that the scientific results and coinci- 
dences we have recorded are accidental ? Or, admitting they 
were planned, tliat a polished people like the Egyptians would 
have expended such vast labor, research, and learning, to fashion 
a tomb or sarcophagus for some real or unborn person ? We 
answer : Ko ! the Great Pyramid was never intended for such a 
pui^pose ; an ignorant people was incapable of planning it, and a 



14 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

learned people superior to the taslc of rearing it for any other 
than national objects. 

Could the builders of this proud monument of a nation's 
glory have looked -with prophetic eye, down the dark vista of 
time, to that fearful day that M-itnessed the destruction of the 
Alexandrian Library — beheld the genius of unnumbered ages con- 
signed to the flames — above all, had they foreseen that an igno- 
rant people should arise and fill the earth, who in afi"ected wis- 
dom, pointing to this august structure of other days,- should at- 
tribute to its founders objects or motives incompatible with 
true greatness, their efforts might have ceased, their arms have 
been paralyzed. 

Long might we linger, did space permit, among the architect- 
ural monuments of Egypt, her temples, obelisks, sphinxes, and 
colossal statues — volumes could not exhaust the subject ; but we 
must leave this laud of mystery, and leaving it we arrive nat- 
urally at its offspring, Greece. Cadmus and Moses left Eg}'pt 
nearly simultaneously,^ the one migrating to Greece, the other to 
Judea ; the former introduced into his new country much of the 
learning and many of the customs of the father-land. 

The three orders of architecture, Doric, Ionic, and Corin- 
thian, are generally declared of Grecian birth ; the first two must, 
however, be excepted, for the Doric column bears strong evi- 
dences of Egyptian extraction, and an Ionic column -was found 
amid the ruins of Kineveh, others on the banks of the Tigris ; so 
that this order is proved to be of Asiatic origin. Another style, 
said to be invented by the Greeks to perpetuate the humiliation 

' Diodorus Siculus who wrote in the first century b. c, ci'ivcs the foUowinff account 
of and rcaso}is for the Exodus of Cadmus and Moses : " There having arisen in former 
days a pestiferous disease in Egypt, the multitude attributed the cause of the evil to 
the Deity; for a very great concourse of foreigners of every nation then dwelt in 
Egypt, who were addicted to strange rites in their worship and sacrifices : whence 
the natives of the land inferred that, unless they removed them, there would never be 
an end to their distresses. They immediately, therefore, expelled these foreigners ; 
the most illustrious and able of whom passed over in a body (as some say) into 
Greece and other places, under the conduct of celebrated leaders, of whom the most 
renowned were Danaus and Cadmus. But a large body of the people went forth 
into the country which is now called Judea, situated not far distant from Egypt, 
being altogether desert in those times. The leader of this colony was Moses, a man 
very remarkable for his great wisdom and valor. When he had taken possession of 
the land, among other cities he founded that which is called Jerusalem, which is now 
the most celebrated." — (Diod., lib. xl.) 



ANCIENT AECHITECTUEE. 15 

of some of tlieir captives, the caryatid, or supporting figure, tak- 
ing the place of a column, is also found in several Egyptian 
temples ; the only order, therefore, of pure Greek extraction is 
the Corinthian. 

The Pandroseum, with its caryatids ; the ancient Temple of 
Corinth ; the Sysipheum, which Strabo speaks of as in ruins ; the 
magnificent Temple of Minerva at Athens, the oldest Grecian 
edifice, perhaps, whose remains permit us to form an adequate 
idea of the grandeur and beauty of the perfect whole — these and 
many others, amid the picturesque mountains and valleys of 
Greece, recall to us the days of her glory, when Phidias, Scopas, 
and Praxiteles, wrought their exquisite handiwork, when all 
that was noble, learned, and beautiful, was found within her 
shores. Few will be the readers who are not familiar with the 
names, at least, of her monuments, and, thanks to her exquisite 
works of art, which are yet unrivaled, as also to the rich inheri- 
tance of literature and science she has handed down to us, the 
civilization of this country is not often questioned. 

Greece in turn bequeathed civilization to Pome, which is also 
rich in monuments, better known and more modern than those 
of the former ; what need to dwell on the grandeur of the Coli- 
seum, the Pantheon, the glorious Column of Ti-ajan, the Arches 
of Titus and Constantino, or to describe the remnants of palaces 
and temples, the ruins of the Forum, the Capitol, amid which 
Gibbon resolved to write his "Decline and Fall of the Eoman 
Empire ? " These are so often depicted with pen and pencil as to 
be familiar to nearly all. 

These two lands, Greece and Italy, contain the greater part 
of ancient architecture to be found in Europe. Other countries, 
indeed, possess scattered and isolated fragments, but to find an 
accumulation of ruins which denote the existence of a civilized 
people ages ago, we must traverse the ocean ; to find remnants 
of cities that were old when Greece was in its infancy, we must 
come to the New Woeld ! The reader will here imagine, no doubt, 
that allusion is made to the Aztec civilization of Mexico, which 
Prescott depicts in such glowing colors ; but, while admiring the 
research and perseverance displayed by that eloquent writer, we 
regret that the " authorities " which he quotes, and which would be 
beyond refutation had the stories of the Spanish Conquest deserved 
the name of history, were in reality but one mass of fiction, owing 



16 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



to the despotic empire exercised by tlie Churcli and its desire to 
make all redound to its glory, as also to the self-glorification of the 
chief actors in the scene, who were their own historians, and not 
unwilling to play the part of conquerors of a civilized and war- 
like nation. The Spaniards, at the time of the Mexican Con- 
quest, had but just emerged from their wars with the Moors or 
Arabs, a people who had inherited from the East art, wealth, and 
learning, as well as a poetic and fiery imagination, and a taste for 
gorgeous display ; who had enriched Spain beyond measure, built 
the Alhambra and embellished Granada, and who in most arts 
and sciences were superior to their conquerors. The adventurers 




KuiNS IN Centbal America. 

who reached Mexico were not willing to assume a secondary posi- 
tion to the heroes of the Moorish wars, they therefore depicted the 
primitive Indian of the forest in colors of Oriental splendor, and 
magnified their own exploits to the greatness of those of the Cid. 
Xo blame attaches to Mr. Prescott, who, resting in gdod foith 
upon a " weight of authority" which is in reality but a fiction, 
the work of fraud, bigotry, and vain ambition, transmits to us 
those splendid fables. That they are fiibles there can be little 
doubt ; no vestiges of past grandeur appear in those places where 
the splendid towns described by Cortez and his contemporaries 



ANCIENT AMERICAN EUINS. 



ir 



are said to have been situated, and where towns of the same 
name still stand ; no remains of stately palaces, basins carved in 
solid rock, gardens, and strong walls, are to be found on the site 
of the fabulous city of Tezcuco ; had these wonders existed there 
must surely have remained some traces ; even had the stones been 
taken to build the present town, they would still be recognizable, 
but this is built of adobe or dried mud-bricks, and there are no signs 
of its ever having been otherwise ; so with Mexico, so with Ta- 
cuba. Furthermore, the Indian of the present day does not rec- 
ognize or appear to have any knowledge of the ancient ruins in 
Central America ; it is well known that the traditional history 
of the Indian is handed down with almost as much accuracy as 




EiriNS IN Centkai, America. 

our own written records, and descends unvaried from father io 
son ; if, therefore, their race had ever reached any thing like the 
civilization attributed to the Aztecs, some remembrance of its 
past glories would still be preserved among its descendants. 

The fine carving of the ruins in Yucatan and elsewhere in 
Central America appears to have been executed in the same 
manner as in Egypt ; the tools used in the latter country were, 
we know, of bronze or copper, hardened by some process un- 
known to our time ; the arrow-heads and hatchets of the Indians 



18 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

were of sharpened stone or flint. Is it likely tliat tlieir race could 
once have possessed the art of forging and hardening metals to 
such perfection as the workmanship on the ruins in question de- 
notes, and then become totally ignorant of that art ? These ruins 
appear, indeed, throughout, of Egyptian, Pho3nician, or perhaps 
Asiatic origin, and show signs of great wealth having been 
expended upon them. Some of the cities are declared to be as 
large as Thebes. We find among them the Egyptian square 
column with its carved hieroglyphics. All the ornaments, im- 
ages, and vessels which have been found, bear the immistakable 
Egyptian type, notably the statue found at Palenque, which is 
inscribed in hieroglyphics at the base, and holds in its hand an 
indented ornament, supposed by some to be the mural crown of 
the Phoenician Hercules. The statues and carvings are all color- 
ed. Fine specimens of painting are found, showing this uuknown 
people to have been further advanced in this art than in that of 
sculpture. The flesh-tints are of that peculiar red-brown which the 
Egyptians always used. Another notable Egyptian feature is the 
pyramidal form of building. True, the Mexican pyramids are 
truncated, bearing on their summits palaces or temples, neverthe- 
less, this peculiar style of architecture is common to Egypt and 
Central America. The pyramid at Copan is almost equal in size 
at the base to the Great Pyramid, though less perfect in propor- 
tion and workmanship ; that on which stands the palace at Pa- 
lenque even bears traces of having been covered with polished 
stones similar to the casing-stones of the Great Pyramid. The 
pyramidal gate- ways of Egypt also appear to have existed in 
.America. Specimens are found at Copan. The serpent, which 
is carved on the tomb of Pharaoh Necho, and whicli is one of the 
chief emblems of the Egyptians, forms one of the principal feat- 
ures of adornment in the Nuns' Hall at Uxmal. A copper coin 
found at Palenque Avas impressed with the same emblem. 

The Spaniards, finding a square stone or altar, on which 
were beautifully-carved figures of warriors leading captives by 
the hair, immediately declared this to be a representation of 
human sacrifice, and termed the altar " the sacrificial stone," as 
having been consecrated to this loathsome rite. AVe believe, how- 
ever, that the Spaniards, themselves under the power of priest- 
craft, were too ready to give every emblem, statue, or hiero- 
glyphic, a religious meaning, and were too apt to interpret that 



ORIGIN OF ANCIENT AMERICAN RUINS. 19 

meaning to the detriment of tlie unfortunate Aztecs. Tlie latter 
were probably as innocent of the crime of human sacrifice as they 
were of having erected the stone in question, which is a remnant 
of the long-extinguished race that first peopled America, raised 
by them, no doubt, to commemorate their victories. Kenrick de- 
scribes a similar stone as existing in one of the temples of the Up- 
per Nile, on which appears a king " holding a number of captives 
by the hair, who stretch their hands out toward him in an attitude 
of supplication, while he threatens to strike them with a hatchet." * 

We might multiply, ad infinitum^ the points of resemblance 
between the ancient ruins of America and those of Egypt, a re- 
semblance which can scarcely be considered accidental, as it com- 
prises the history of the habits, customs, and worship of a people. 
This resemblance we can record as an incontestable fact, but dis- 
coveries have hitherto been too limited to admit of any thing 
but surmise in accounting for it. The ruins in America are in a 
more advanced state of decay than those of Egypt — shall we 
therefore believe that here was the parent race, the birthplace of 
Egyptian art? that the Asiatic nation which gave civilization 
to Egypt had previously spread itself eastward to this conti- 
nent \ ' or shall we rather believe that the Phoenicians, when 
they flourished at Tartessus or Tarshish (the present Cadiz), trad- 
ing with, perhaps colonizing, the British Islands, extended their 
voyages as far as America, and colonized the latter, whose ancient 
monuments mark the decadence of Egyptian art ? 

Be this as it may, the Spaniards in 1492, the Northmen five 
hundred years previously, were not the first to establish a con- 
necting link between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres ; . 
thousands of years before their time, a people had risen, in what 
is now termed the New World, to a civilization similar if not 
equal to that of Egypt. This civilization flourished evidently dur- 
ing many hundred years, as the many inland cities of which re- 
mains are visible testify. These must have taken centuries to ar- 
rive at such dimensions, and prove that inland home commerce 
existed, sufficient for the support of millions. This, then, was no 
sea-coast colony of rapid growth and extinction, but a nation that 

*Kenrick, vol. i., p. 8. 

' In our own day Japanese junks have drifted uncontrolled from the shores of that 
island to those of Alaska and California. Some such accident may have revealed to 
the Asiatics the so-called New World, thousands of years ago. 



20 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



slowlj and steadily increased in numbers and wealth, bow many 
tbonsand years ago we know not ; but this we know, that trees 
more tban a thousand years old have been fomid growing on the 
ruins in Central America, which could only have commenced 
growth many years after the buildings had fallen into decay. 

How this people became extinct is yet a mystery. Was it 
some internal war ? some fell disease or black death ? -or, more 




Tomb of Sesostris. 

likely, did savage tribes overcome and destroy them, as barba- 
rism seems ever to destroy civilization ? These are questions yet 
unanswered. Future discoveries, perhaps, of other ruins, in a bet- 
ter state of preservation, may throw greater light on the subject. 
All we are able now to do is, to travel amazedly through these 
ruins. Here, indeed, History, to our eager query, " Who hath 
builded them ? " mumbleth something, but what it is we hear not. 



CHAPTER 11. 

ASTEONOMY, GEOGRAPHY, NAVIGATION, LEAENING, AMONG THE 

ANCIENTS. 

As well might we attempt to determine the antiquity of intel- 
lectual man as to fix the age of astronomy. That it is almost 
coeval with humanity we may, however, reasonably infer, for it is 
not curiosity, or even a love of science, but the dictates of ne- 
cessity which impel us to its study : by it the seasons are deter- 
mined, the proper dates fixed for civil and religious afiairs, the 
favorable periods for voyages on the vast ocean ascertained. 
Without it there would be no possibility of fixed rules and regu- 
lations ; thus is astronomy indispensable to agriculture, politics, 
and religion. In tracing back its history, the most we can do is, 
to observe the ancient landmarks, and note the early fragments 
which have come down to us bearing upon the subject. These are 
sufficient to show that at a very early age mankind had reached 
such proficiency in that science as to render it probable that 
their knowledge was as complete as that of the present day. 

The Hebrew historian claims for his people the honor of 
having first studied the heavens ; but the Hindoos, according to 
their own record, are the most ancient astronomers of whom we 
have knowledge. They computed eclipses 3102 years b. c, and, as 
their calculations at this early period represent the state of the 
heavens with astonishing accuracy, and appear upon examination 
to be even more correct than those they subsequently made, it is 
evident they were the result of actual observation. It was the 
Hindoos who for greater facility of calculation invented the ten 
numeral figures which the Arabs introduced into Spain, and 
which have now superseded the old Koman method of comput- 
ing by means of the letters of the alphabet. 



22 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

India, tlien, as far as we can trace back, appears to have been 
the cradle of astronomy. She spread her knowledge eastward 
to China and Japan, westward to Chaldea and Egypt, who in turn 
bequeathed it to Phoenicia and Greece. Learned men of thesp 
lands appear to have determined the motion and vohime of the 
stars, the constellations were named in writings both sacred and 
profane, the signs of the zodiac fixed many centuries anterior to 
our era. One of the learned men of our day, who for forty years 
labored to decipher the hieroglyphics of the ancients, found upon 
a coffin or Egyptian mummy-case (now in the British IMuseum) a 
delineation of tlie signs of the zodiac and the position of the 
planets ; the date to which they pointed was the autumnal equi- 
nox of the year 1722 b. c. Prof. Mitchell, to whom the ftict 
was communicated, employed his assistants to ascertain the ex- 
act position of the heavenly bodies belonging to our solar sys- 
tem on the equinox of that year. This was done, and a diagram 
furnished by parties ignorant of his object, which showed that 
on the Tth of October, 1722 b. c, the moon and planets occupied 
the exact points in the heavens marked upon the coffin in the 
British Museum. 

The Egyptians had, we have already shown, a most perfect 
knowledge of astronomy, and applied that science to such practi- 
cal uses that a knowledge of it must have been common to all. 
Mathematics and geometry are said to have had their birth with 
them. Diodorus writes : 

" They pay great attention to geometry and arithmetic. For 
the river, changing the appearance of the country very materially 
every year, causes many and various discussions among neighbor- 
ing proprietors, about the extent of their property ; and it would 
be difficult for any person to decide upon their claims without 
geometrical proof founded on actual observation ; of arithmetic 
they have also frequent use, both in their domestic economy and 
in the application of geometrical theorems, besides its utility in 
the cultivation of astronomical studies ; for the orders and mo- 
tions of the stars are observed at least as industriously by the 
Egyptians as by any other people whatever ; and they keep a 
record of the motions of each for an incredible number of years, 
the study of this science having been, from the remotest times, 
an object of national ambition with them. 

"They have also most punctually observed the motions, 



ANCIENT ASTEONOMY. 23 

periods, and actions of the planets .... and not uncommonly 
predict the failure of crops, or an abundance, and the occurrence 
of epidemic diseases among men and beasts; foreseeing also 
earthquakes and floods, the appearance of comets, and a variety 
of other things which appear impossible to the multitude." 

The most ancient astronomer of Greece, Thales, acquired 
much of his great learning in Egypt. Six hundred years before 
Christ he computed the diameter of the sun, and is said to have 
predicted that memorable eclipse which on the 30th of Septem- 
ber, 610 B. c, stayed the eifusion of blood and caused an armis- 
tice between the Medes and Libyans. Pythagoras, one of his 
disciples, taught the principles of our solar system, also that the 
moon reflected the sun's rays, and described accurately the na- 
ture of comets. He is said to have been the first to observe that 
Yenus is alternately the evening and the morning star. Eratos- 
thenes measured the diameter of the earth, 200 b. c, by an arc 
of the meridian, which is the means now employed. Epicurus 
speaks incidentally as a matter of course, of " the world turning 
as it does round the axis of the heavens, and that too with sur- 
prising rapidity." But the work of the ancients which may be 
called the most complete that has come down to us is that of 
Claudius Ptolemy, well named the Prince of Astronomers. In 
the second century of our era he wrote at Alexandria his ad- 
mirable works. He determined the latitude and longitude of 
more than four thousand places, and gives the history of ancient 
astronomy, with an elaborate list of the stars as known to him 
and older astronomers. The term " colossal," given by the 
great Hmnboldt to the work of Ptolemy on geography, applies as 
well to his astronomical labors. Beroseus * repeats the follow- 
ing Babylonian tradition, which, whatever may be thought of it 
as a theory, shows what study and calculation were expended by 
the ancients on these matters : he maintains that all terrestrial 
things will be consumed when the planets which now are trav- 
ersing their different courses shall all coincide in the sign of 
Cancer, and be so placed that a straight line could pass directly 
through all their orbs ; but the inundation will take place when 
the same conjunction shall occur in Capricorn. In the first is 

^ Beroseus, or Berosus, lived in the fourth century b. c, and was the contempo- 
rary of Alexander the Great. His works are quoted by Josephus, by Alexander Poly- 
histor, who wrote in the second century b. c, by Euscbius, and others. 
3 



24: LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

the summer, in the hist the winter of the year. The great year 
of Aristotle is that in wliicli the i)hinets, in completing their 
course, return to the sign from which they originally started to- 
gether when God set them in motion ; in the winter of this year 
comes the delufje, its summer brings the conflafrration of the 
world. This periodical revolution or conjunction is fixed by 
Orpheus at one liundred and twenty thousand years, and by 
Copandras at one hundred and thirty - six thousand. Other 
writers contend that the heavenly bodies shall no more coincide 
in their original positions. 

No science seems to have been held by the ancients in such 
veneration as the noble one which lifts men above the petty 
strife and turmoil of the world, causing them to contemplate the 
immense expanse of the heavens and numberless stars. Among 
all the splendors of the Persian Chosroes, the most magnificent 
was perhaps a dome supported by a forest of forty thousand col- 
umns, which was adorned with one thousand globes of gold, imi- 
tating the motions of the planets and constellations of the zodiac : 

" 'Twas tlius he taught the fabric of the spheres, 
The changeful moon, the circuit of the stars, 
The golden zones of heaven." 

Many of the proudest achievements of the ancients, both in art 
and letters, have been lost, mutilated, or so falsified that it is 
difficult to form a just idea of the original. Notwithstanding 
these disadvantages under which they must labor, enough re- 
mains to prove that they had arrived at many just conclusions 
touching astronomy, and the form and size of our planet, so that, 
from the days of Nimrod to our own, the ignorant only can 
have believed the earth to be other than spherical, the ridicu- 
lous story touching Columbus and the sages of Salamanca to the 
contrary notwithstanding. If this knowledge was attained with- 
out the aids of which we boast, their achievements should be re- 
garded as more wonderful than ours. It may, however, be as well 
to conclude that, as in all ages human nature has under the 
same circumstances been about the same, an equal amount of 
learning, thought, and similar instruments, have ever been em- 
ployed ; in sliort, that there is no new thing under the sun, and 
that " wisdom shall not die with us." ' 

' It is generally believed that Galileo was persecuted by the Church, and tortured 
by the Inquisition, on account of discoveries made by him in astronomy. In this be- 



ANCIENT EGYPTIAN EXPLORATIONS. 25 

The attainments of the ancients in astronomy are less often 
contested than their knowledge of geography, in which they are 
represented as decidedly deficient ; nevertheless, with the aid of 
those fragments of their writings which have come down to us, 
we are able in great measure to refute the charge. Certainly in- 
terest and enterprise were as nearly connected and as great as at 
the present day. The huge ships propelled by sails, with hun- 
dreds of oarsmen to take the place of the latter during calms or 
adverse winds, guided by the magnetic needle (their knowledge 
of which we shall presently prove), afforded even greater advan- 
tages than modern sailing-ships. Pharaoh Necho sent out a for- 
midable exploring expedition, about 600 b. c, manned by Phoe- 
nicians, which, descending the Ped Sea and circumnavigating 
Africa, reached the Pillars of Hercules in the third year and re- 
turned to Egypt by the Mediterranean, thus performing at that 
early period the voyage, in an inverse direction, for which Yasco 
de Gama, two thousand years later, became so renowned, with 
the additional navigation of the Mediterranean and Red Seas. 
Herodotus is disposed to discredit the accounts of this voyage, 
for the best reason that could well be given to establish their 
veracity : that is, he writes that the Phoenicians asserted that 
during a portion of their voyage the sun was in the north. 

A gentleman of our day, who, after seven years' study, travel, 
and observation, finds the sources of the Nile to be the several 
lakes mentioned by Ptolemy, and corresponding in number, form, 
size, and location, with the description of the latter, is thought 
worthy of knighthood, and hailed with triumph by his learned 
brethren. If these honors are to be paid to one who has sufiicient- 
ly informed himself to enable him to indorse the correctness of 

lief we do not fully concur. Books much older than Galileo were then preserved at 
Rome and Pisa, containing those very theories for which it is alleged this Pisan was 
persecuted ; these records have come down to our time. It is more just and reason- 
able to suppose that he and his books were condemned by the Inquisition on account 
of an attack made upon that body in the preface of a book for the publication cf 
■which he had obtained a license from the holy office, as is alleged, by deception or 
falsehood. Would the Church destroy liis book for affirming that the earth revolved 
round the sun in little more than three hundred and sixty-five days, while carefully 
preserving the writings of the ancients in which they proclaim the same doctrines ? 
We would not here defend the Inquisition, or justify the tyranny of the Church; yet, 
let it be remembered that Pope Urban VIII. granted an annual pension of one hun- 
dred crowns for the support of Galileo in the evening of his days, and one of sixty 
crowns to his son. 



26 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Ptolemy, wliat honors should we not pay to the memory of the 
great geographer of seventeen hundred years ago ? 

The question, however, touching the geograjihical knowledge 
of the ancients which most interests us in the present work is : 
"Were they or w^ere they not ignorant of the existence of the 
Western Hemisphere ? Without reverting to what we have said 
in the preceding chapter touching the resemblance between the 
ruins of Central America and of Egypt, in accoimting for which 
M'e can onl}" have recourse to hypothesis, we may rest upon a sure 
foundation our belief that they were not. Although most writers 
on the discovery of America, and extravagant eulogists of Co- 
lumbus, aftect either utterly to ignore, or to regard as fables, the 
allusions in ancient writings to a land which can be no other than 
that which we now call the !New World, those who assisted Co- 
lumbus in his undertaking and instructed him in the course he 
was to pursue, were actuated and inspired mainly by these allu- 
sions, Columbus himself, seeking to give a learned air to his 
enterprise, and to draw attention from the real source whence he 
derived his knowledge, dwells largely upon these ancient frag- 
ments, as does also his son." 

We will not multiply quotations, but will content ourselves 
with the following from Plato, which so aecui-ately describes the 
situation of America that the reader must indeed be obstinate 
who will not believe that he described a country which had been 
known, and did not marvelously imagine one which should coin- 
cide so well with the situation of the real continent : 

" That sea " (the Atlantic) " was then navigable, and had an isl- 
and fronting that mouth which you in your tongue call the Pillars 
of Hercules .... and there was a passage hence to the rest of 
the islands^ as well as from these isUmds to the whole opposite 
continent that surrounds that real sea .... the Atlantic Isl- 
and itself was plunged beneath the sea, and entirely disa]:»peared ; 
whence even now that sea is neither navigable nor to be traced 
out, being blocked up by the great depth of mud which the sub- 
siding island produced." " 

We cannot conceive, when we observe the character of the 
writings of Plato, that he could have any object in deceiving or 
misleading his readers. A disciple of the sublime Socrates, his aim 

'" See Fernando ColuniT)Us'8 " History of the Admiral," chapters vi., vii., viii., ix., x. 
" Plato, " The Timaeus," Davis's translation. 



ISLAND OF ATLANTIS. 27 

was to elevate and instruct mankind. With regard to the " great 
island " of which he speaks, we see no reason to term it the 
^^fahled island of Atlantis," as do most authors. Wonderful sub- 
mersions and convulsions have in our own day changed the as- 
pect of coasts. The groups of islands east of the AVest Indies 
may be remains of one vast island ; their broken nature renders 
this hypothesis probable. Wliy should we not, observing the cor- 
rectness of the greater part of the above description, accept the 
whole as truthful, instead of rejecting the whole as a fable be- 
cause one part records an event which, though wonderful, is by no 
means impossible % If this great island were submerged it must 
have taken years before the sea became navigable ; by that time 
men had ceased to consider it as such, and, drawn toward other 
interests and pursuits, had abandoned or forgotten the "islands 
and the whole opposite continent which surrounds that real sea," 
which could have been none other than the West Indies and the 
Continent of America. It is not probable that the learned, or 
even ordinarily educated, ever became totally ignorant or obliv- 
ious of the existence of this continent, while a convulsion so 
terrible as must have been the one recorded by Plato would have 
deeply impressed the masses, whose vague and traditional ac- 
counts of the event may have given rise to those legends respect- 
ing the horrors pervading '■'■the shadowy'''' or '■'■gloomy ocean" 
which are said to have been prevalent in the time of Columbus. 

Wliy should we wonder that the allusions to the Western Hem- 
isphere are so vague, or be so assured that Atlantis was a fable? 
were not Herculaneum and Pompeii lost for more than a thousand 
years, their existence forgotten, and those authors mentioning 
them accused of inventing fables to mislead the ignorant ? Yet 
after all those years an accident revealed to astonished modern 
times the "fabulous cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii," and 
with them the habits and customs in their minutest details of a 
people who had been thus buried in the midst of the affairs of 
daily life, by the flood of molten lava and fiery shower of ashes, 
and who are proved to have rivaled, if not excelled, us in all the 
refinements of civilization. The hardened lava can be hewn 
asunder, the ashes swept away, but none can roll back the mighty 
ocean, nor disclose what its waves conceal ; this must remain till 
the day when the sea shall give up its dead. 

Nothing more fully proves the advanced stage of civilization 



28 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

in the earliest ages, tlian the extensive commerce which was car- 
ried on. In tlie infancy of nations and peoples, the desire for the 
acquisition of property is indeed implanted in the breast of man, 
but this desire cannot develop into commerce till the nation is 
wealthy and populous. In the days of the Hebrew patriarchs, he 
who first sat down at a spring, or reposed in the grateful shade 
of a tree, acquired a right to possess the same, which was respected 
by subsequent visitors. Abraham exclaims to Lot, when their flocks 
have become so numerous as to render a separation necessary : 

" Is not the whole land before thee ? separate thyself, 1 pray 
thee, from me : if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to 
the right ; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to 
the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of 
Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere .... even as the 
garden of the Lord .... Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan ; 
.... and Abraham dwelled in the land of Canaan." 

"VVe are not, however, to suppose that all nations were thus 
primitive in the days of the Patriarch. As well might it be main- 
tained that the world is at present sparsely populated because 
there are vast regions in America where a citizen may acquire 
an ample homestead simply by a residence of a few years on the 
spot of his choice. Trade and commerce were already well sys- 
tematized. Gold and silver, in exchange for wares, had taken the 
place of barter, at the time of which we speak. Abraham paid 
four hundred shekels of silver, such as were current with the 
merchant, f<jr the cave of Machpelah ; and Joseph was sold to 
the Ishmaelitish merchants, who M'ere on their way to Egypt 
with spices and perfumes, for twenty pieces of silver. 

An extensive commerce was carried on by the Phoenicians, 
the earliest merchants of antiquity of whom we have knowledge. 
To their great mart, Tyre, the merchants of every nation brought 
their choicest goods. The beauteous slaves of Greece, soft linen, 
purple dyes and silks of Syria, embroideries of Egvj)t, perfumes 
of Arabia, horses and horsemen, mules, wheat, honey, balm, 
iron, gold, silver, precious stones, even tin from Cornwall, all 
found ready sale in the vast markets of " the crowned city whose 
merchants were princes." " 

'2 Xo more s'o^^i'iK 'description of the commercial greatness of a city can be im- 
agined than that in which Ezekiel (chapter xxvii.) enumerates the many peoples who 
traded with Tyre. 



COMMERCE OF THE ANCIENTS. 29 

Carthage and Alexandria rivaled and succeeded Tyre as the 
great commercial marts of the world. Arabia Felix, when that 
country was the medium through which passed the commerce be- 
tween Egypt and India, seemed to concentrate the wealth of the 
world within its borders. The doors of the dwellings were of ivo- 
ry studded with rich jewels ; the pillars glistened with gold and 
silver ; aromatic woods were burned to cook food ; and so cloyed 
with rich perfumes were the inhabitants of this happy land that 
we are told they burned pitch and goat's-hair under their noses 
to stimulate their sense of smell. Among the many castes into 
which the people of India were from the earliest ages divided, 
merchants are distinctly mentioned, so that we may conclude 
that trade was established in that country from the remotest 
periods. 

The staple articles of commerce with the ancients do not 
seem to have greatly varied from those of the present day, they 
consisted of rich silks, precious stones, and metals, linens, slaves, 
ivory, ebony, purple dyes, spices, wnnes, horses, mules, sugar, 
wheat, honey, fans from China, carved images, flint-glass, etc. 
This vast commerce can scarcely have existed without carrying 
the science of navigation to a very advanced state. The Phoeni- 
cians, there is no doubt, navigated all the known seas and very 
probably crossed the Atlantic." The voyage of the Carthaginian 
Hanno, about six hundred years before Christ, a curious record 
of which was found suspended in the Temple of Saturn at Car- 
thage, and the expedition of Pharaoh JN^echo before mentioned, 
are the earliest great enterprises in navigation which have come 
down to us. 

The "Periplus" of Hanno is apparently an official document 
recording a voyage of discovery which the Carthaginians decreed 
should be made with a view to establishing Liby-phoenician col- 
onies. Modern writers have not been wanting Avho, seeking to 
cast doubt upon the authenticity of the " Periplus," would detract 
from the knowledge and enterj^riseof antiquity. Falconer has, 
however, ably refuted these aspersions ; and, as the descriptions 
given by Hanno correspond to the aspect of the shores which he 

'' In the tomb of Rameses the Great is a representation of a naval combat between 
the Egyptians and some other people, supposed to be the Phoenicians, whose huge 
ships are propelled by sails. In these, guided by their stone of Hercules, or mariner's 
compass, they were enabled boldly to leave the coast. 



30 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

declares to have coasted, we maj regard the fact as established 
that, six hundred years before our era, a voyage of discovery 
was made, which was worthier iu its objects than that of Co- 
lumbus. 

It is not possible that the art of ship-building should have 
reached such perfection as it undoubtedly did in early times, had 
not navigation been extensive enough to demand such perfec- 
tion. The dimensions of the most ancient vessel on record, the 
ark of Xoah, three liundred cubits long, fifty broad and thirty high, 
are almost precisely the same as those of the fastest vessels of 
the present day, which are three hundred and twenty-two feet 
long, fifty broad, and twenty-eight and a half in height. The 
ships of the Egyptians were often upon a most magnificent scale. 
The fleet with which Sesostris concpiered all the countries adja- 
cent to the Red Sea is described in ancient Egyptian chronicles 
to have been composed of four Imndred large vessels.'* That 
which Alexander ordered to be constructed on the banks of the 
Ilydaspes, one thousand miles inland, was of one thousand ships ; 
with these he descended the Indus, and, on reaching the ocean, 
sailed to the Persian Gulf. The Indians seem to have had laro-e 
fleets." Archimedes superintended the building of a ship for 
Iliero of Syracuse which surpassed in magnificence any thing of 
which we read. The wood which would have built fifty ordinary 
galleys was expended in its construction. It contained galleries, 
gardens, stables, fish-ponds, mills, baths, an engine to throw 
stones three hundred pounds in weight, and arrows twelve 
yards long. Its floors were inlaid with scenes from Homer's 
" Iliad." A temple of Yenus was also among the wonders it con- 
tained. 

The famous voyage of St. Paul to Rome was effected in three 
vessels. In the first, no doubt a small coasting one, he went from 
Cesarea to Myra, where he went on board an Alexandrian corn- 
ship, which was wrecked off" the cost of Malta ; this ship con- 
tained a cargo of wheat, and two hundred and seventy persons, 
all of which were carried by another Alexandrian corn-ship, be- 
sides its own crew and cargo, by Syracuse and Rhegium, to 
Puteoli. Now, as it is usual to allow a ton and a half per man in 

'••Diodorus Siciilus, " Canon of the Kings of Egypt." 

'^Diodorus Siculua relates that four thousand ships opposed the inrasioD of Semi- 
rarais into India. 



SIZE OF ANCIENT SHIPS. 31 

transport-ships, it will be safe to conclude that the average an- 
cient merchant-ships ranged from five hundred to a thousand 
tons burden. The vessel in which the great obelisk of the Vat- 
ican was transported to Rome carried eleven hundred tons of 
pulse as ballast, besides the obelisk, which weighed fifteen hundred 
tons. 

jSTor did the ships of the ancients lack many so-called modern 
improvements. The chain-cable, which we have seen patented in 
our own day, was well known to the Yenitii, whose galleys are 
thus described by Julius Csesar : 

" Their bottoms were somewhat flatter than ours, the better 
to adapt themselves to the shallows, and sustain without danger 
the regress of the tides. Their prows were very high and erect, 
as likewise their sterns, to bear the hugeness of the billows and 
the violence of tempests. The body of the vessel was entirely 
of oak, to stand the shocks and assaults of that tempestuous ocean. 
The benches of the rowers were made of strong beams of about 
afoot in breadth, and fastened with iron nails an inch thick. I71- 
stead of cables, they secured their anchors with chains of iron P 

A Roman vessel of the time of Trajan had been snnk in the 
Lake Ricciola ; it was raised after more than thirteen hundred 
years, and found to be in a good state of preservation ; the planks 
were of cypress and pine, calked with linen rags, and covered 
with Greek pitch ; the outside was covered w^ith sheets of lead 
fastened with small copper nails.' So the idea of metal sheeting 
is no more modern than that of the chain-cable. 

All this, it will be argued, were useless to sail across a vast 
expanse of Avater, without a knowledge of the magnet, the mag- 
netized needle, or mariner's compass. 

The invention of the compass is commonly attributed to a 
pilot of Amalfi.'" His name, and the date of so memorable an 
event, are alike misty and uncertain. In our time he is known 

'^ The Amalfitans boasted their descent from Roman citizens sent to Byzantium by 
Constaiitine the Great, and who, after shipwreck on the way, established themselves 
at Melfi, the name of which they transferred to their new city built on the shores of 
the Gulf of Salerno, on the spot where Paestum formerly flourished. In the ninth 
century, the republic of Amalfi was already the mistress of the commerce of the Le- 
vant, and her maritime code was adopted throughout the Mediterranean and Ionian 
Seas, as was formerly that of Rhodes. Sicilians, Arabs, Africans, Indians even, 
frequented her mart to exchange their respective products. Her tari were the most 
approved circulation throughout tlie Levant until the Venetian dutat prevailed. 



32 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

as Flavio Gioia, but writers nearer to Lis own day call him Giri 
and Gira, and give liim the Christian name Giovane. In like 
manner, the year 1302 has been selected for the discovery, out of 
a number of dates to which it is assigned in the older authors. 
The particulars of the man's history are unknown, nor is there a 
scrap of historical evidence that he e'ither discovered or even 
improved the mariner's compass. On tracing to its origin ' a 
story so generally received, reiterated as it is in most books of 
reference, and accepted in Italy as an article of the national 
creed, we find the authority for it lost in tradition and guess- 
work. The celebrated Antony Panormita, one of the great 
poets of the fifteenth century and secretary of Alphonso, King 
of Naples, has embalmed in verse the tradition of the discovery 
at Amalfi : 

'• First Amalfi gave to seamen the use of the magnet." 
And elsewhere : 

" Of the magnet, Amalfi 
Boasts the noble discovery." 

In more recent times this story has been received by local 
writers, who, indulging a lively fancy, have appeared to see in the 
arms of Amalfi the heraldic symbol of the mariner's compass, 
and have thereupon alleged that the city did in fact take the 
compass for its arms, to perpetuate the memory of its invention 
by the citizen Giovane Gira or Giri, or Flavio Gioia. It is not 
improbable that the sign of the compass which still remains over 
the door of a certain dwelling in that renowned seaport originally 
suggested the tradition, and may have served to commemorate 
a famous nautical instrument-maker who had made some improve- 
ment in the indications of the points of the comj^ass and in the 
suspension of the magnetic needle. 

Notwithstanding this absence of all historic testimony, our 
students' guides and Italian patriotism" cleave to a story which 
will not bear serious examination. For there is a cloud of wit- 
nesses that long before the era of Gioia the compass was in fomil- 
iar use in Europe, and that in the East the knowledge of the 

'■' In the naval action off Lissa, in July, 18f)C, the first hostile encounter of iron- 
clad fleets in the world's history, the Flavio Gioia and Cliristoforo Colombo figured as 
dispatch-boats on the Italian side. 



THE MAGNETIC NEEDLE. 33 

polarity of the magnet, and its application to traveling by sea 
and land, were of immemorial antiquity. 

The first notice of tlie compass in European literature appears 
in the accounts of the voyages of the Northmen. " The Land- 
namabok " has this passage in the second chapter of the first 
volume : 

" Floke Yilgedarson set out about the year 868 from E,oga- 
land in Norway to rediscover Iceland. He took with him three 
ravens to act as guides. It was the custom of our ancestors 
when looking out for land to let fly these birds. If they re- 
turned to the ship, it was presumed they were still far from land, 
but if they flew away they were watched, and the direction they 
had taken followed as a sure guide to land. To consecrate the 
ravens to this use, Floke offered a great sacrifice at Smorsund, 
where his vessel was at anchor. For at that time the navigators 
of Scandinavia did not make use of the loadstone." 

This was written about the year 1075, and, though the last 
clause is not absolutely correct, as we shall presently see, it yet 
proves that the polarity of the magnet and its use in navigation 
were by that time, at any rate, perfectly familiar to the North- 
men. 

A century later, in the year 1190, the use of the magnet at 
sea is used as a simile in a French satirical poem — a proof that it 
could not even at that date have been recently invented, but was 
notorious and familiar to all. The title of the poem is " La Bible," 
the author was Guyot de Provins. The writer, after having de- 
claimed against every state, proceeds to attack the court of 
Rome. The pope, according to him, should be what the polar 
star is to the mariner, the one conspicuous, fixed, unchanging, 
infallible guide. In natural connection with this, he goes on to 
speak of the magnet, the loving-stone which reveals the place of 
the Tresmontaigne when clouds and mist obscure it. But we 
will, as nearly as we can render it in English, give the entire 
passage : 

" Would that our Holy Father the pope 
Eesembled th' immovable star. 
Very clearly they see it — 
The mariners, they trust to its ray : 
By that star they go out and home, 
They hold on their way with all calm. 



3J: LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

It is known as the Tresiuontaigne, 

It is fixed, central, ami certain. 

"While others shoot, wander, revolve. 

This star is the centre of all. 

The seaman knows an art that can't deceive : 

The compass'* is his sacred oracle. 

The potent charm of the magnet 

(A stone dark and ugly in look, 

Yet to it iron fondly adheres), 

Gives its impulse to the needle 

Which then, cased, and freely suspended, 

Set in movement unhindered, 

True and certain points to that star. 

Tiie sky with sea in mist confused. 

No moon or constellation to he seen. 

The needle's lighted up without delay: 

The sailor has no fear of going astray, 

To th' invisihle star points the faithful iron, 

And on the trackless deep his way is sure. 

Unchanging, central, bright, that star. 

Such surely should our Holy Father be." 

Another notice of the compass is found in the " History of the 
East and AVest ■ ' by the Cardinal Jacques de Vitry, Bishop of Tus- 
culum and Ptolemais, a legate of the pope in the fourth Cnisade 
and in the army of Montfort against the Albigenses, a. d. 
l'204r-1210. He calls the magnet ada?nas (English adamant), a 
name very much in vogue in the middle ages, in lieu of magnes 
(tnagnet). The passage in question is this : 

" The magnet (adamas) is found in India. It attracts iron, 
by some hidden quality. The iron needle, after it has touched 
the magnet, always turns toward the north-star, which docs not 
move, as if it were the centre of the tirmament, the other stars 
revolving around it. Wherefore the magnet is very necessary 
to navigators at sea.*' " 

It is evident that it is not a new discovery that is here de- 
scribed a century before Gioia's reputed discovery, but an 
established usage, and an instrument necessary to mariners, the 
use of which was notorious. 

Another conspicuous authority on the same point, in the thir- 
teenth century, is Bruuetto Latini, poet, philosopher, astrolo- 

'* VAmanih-e. ''"Uistoria HierosolimitamT?," cap. 89. 



ROGER BACOX. 35 

ger, of Florence. He had the honor of instructmg " the divine 
Dante," and foretold the glory of his pupil's genius. Having 
been banished from Florence with his party, the Guelphs — 
as was subsequently Dante himself, who was also sentenced to be 
burnt alive, and never dared return to his beloved home — Bru- 
nette settled in France, where he wrote his " Tresor de Sapience," 
a sort of encyclopaedia, in the Romance language. In this work, 
he makes mention of the loadstone and the magnetized needle, 
and, though the description is not altogether accurate, it admits 
of no doubt about the use of the needle in the navigation of the 
period : 

" Take a magnet, that is calamite. You will find it has two 
faces, one lies toward the north pole, the other toward the south 
pole. Each of the faces draws the needle toward that pole to 
which that face is turned ; and thereby mariners may be deceived 
if they are not on their guard." 

Brunetto had before this paid a visit to England, and spent 
some time at Oxford with the illustrious monk, the greatest of 
mathematicians from Archimedes down, the chemist whose won- 
derful discoveries secured him ten years' incarceration as a magi- 
cian, the marvel of his age — Roger Bacon. Brunetto, in a letter 
to his friend Guido Cavalcanti, also a celebrated poet of Florence, 
gives the following account of his visit to Oxford. We trust it 
will be found sufficiently interesting to justify our giving a 
translation of the whole letter : 

" The Parliament being summoned to assemble at Oxford, I 
had an opportunity of visiting that famous school, of which you 
have heard so much — happily somewhat sooner than, from the 
nature of my avocations, I might have otherwise done. 

" The English vf or di parliament is said, by some leai-ned men 
here, to be derived quasi jjarium lamentiim, because the Eng- 
lish barons (peers) at these meetings complain of the enormities 
of their country. But I am of opinion it is borrowed from our 
word parleure (speech), and ^;«rZ€or (an orator), as indeed 
there are a great many speakers, and often much virulent speech 
delivered in these assemblies. 

" Our journey from London to Oxford was made in two days, 
not without difficulty and danger ; for the roads are bad, and 
we had to climb hills of hazardous ascent, which to descend 
are eoually perilous. We passed through manv woods consid- 



36 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

ered here as dangerous places, as they aire infested with robbers ; 
whicli indeed is the case with most roads in England. This is 
connived at by the neighboring barons, for the consideration of 
sharing the booty, and the robbers serving their protectors on all 
occasions, personally, and with the whole strength of their band. 
However, as our company was numerous, we had not much 
cause to tremble. 

" Accordingly, the first night we arrived safely at Shcrburn 
Castle, in the neighborhood of Watlington, under the chain of 
hills over which we passed at Stocquinchurquc. 

" This castle was built by the Earl of Tanquerville, one of the 
followers of the fortunes of William the Bastard of Normandy, 
who invaded England, and slew King Harold in a battle which 
decided the ftite of this kingdom. As the barons are frequently 
embroiled in disputes and quarrels with the sovereign and with 
each other, they take the precaution of building strong castles 
with lofty towers and deep moats, .with drawbridges, posterns, 
and portcullises. They also make a provision of victuals in case 
they happen to be besieged, so as to hold out for a considerable 
time. They have also a large collection of all arms and ma- 
chines for defense. 

" The country around Oxford is beautiful. The city is watered 
by the Cherwell and the Isis, or Ouse, wdiich rivers wander over 
the land in many a wild meander. As I stood viewing these 
scenes from the surrounding hills, this thought occurred to me: 
' Medicine and the useful arts are commendable pursuits. But a 
petty trade is considered ignoble ; if it be large, and very pro- 
ductive, it benefits a large number without vanity, and is not to 
be lightly esteemed. No pursuit, however, is better than agri- 
culture, more satisfactory or more worthy of a gentleman {franc 
home).'' Then I remembered the words of Horace : 

' Happy is he quitting all trades, wlio, 
As did they of the olden time, 
Cultivates his land and rears his beasts, 
Unknown to usurers, and unjust to none.' 

The number of scholars in this high-school is about three thousand : 
indeed, their number is too great, inasmuch as the revenues of 
their houses are insuflicient for their support, so that they are 
constrained to ask relief at the butteries of the great barons and 
the cabins of their vassals. This is true chietly of those edu- 



EOGER BACON. 37 

cated to be priests and to display tlie religion and tlie faith of 
Jesus Christ, with the rewards of the good, and the sufterings of 
the wicked. The others, who are to practise law and physic, 
or other learned profession, live with their respective societies, 
without wrong and without scandal. 

" You may be assured I did not fail to see Friar Bacon as soon 
as possible. He is the only one I could hear of that is skilled in 
Hebrew and Greek. Even the Latin they use is not that of 
Tully, and, as the doctors know nothing of the Romance tongue, 
my communication with them was very slight. But I had 
ample amends in the frequent conversations I had with this mir- 
ror of good learning. 

" For, unlike one described by Horace — 

' He seeks not smoke from flame, 
But light from smoke to give.' 

" As the friar studied long in Paris, he makes himself well 
understood in the Romance language, according to the iiatois of 
France.''" Friar Roger Bacon is a Cordelier of the order of Saint 
Francis ; he is a D. D., a good physician, and the greatest chem- 
ist, mathematician, and astrologer, of the present age. He is, 
moreover, a profound philosopher, and has made a number of 
discoveries which have brought upon him the imputation of sor- 
cery and magic. This absurd idea rises above the common peo- 
ple and even the scholars, and makes his own community and 

** The Romance language was a popular Latin, in use over the greater part of Eu- 
rope, modified in different countries to adapt it to the idiom of the respective races. 
From the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries the University of Paris was the means of 
diffusing " the patois of France " far and wide. Of England, Germany, and Italy, it 
used to be said : 

" Filii nobilium dum sunt juniores 
Mittuntur in Franciam fleri doctores." 

Thus the French, the dialect of the provinces north of the Loire only, prevailed 
over the Provencal, the southern dialect of the Romance, that of the Troubadours. 
Roger Bacon and Chaucer used it ; Frederick IL, the German emperor, wrote his 
poems, and Marco Polo his adventures, in the idiom of Paris ; and we find Brunetto 
corresponding in it with his fellow-townsmen of Florence. Dante and Petrarch had 
not yet formed' the Italian. 

Europe has at present seven literary modifications of the Romance language. Of 
these, three preserve the name ; the Roiiman, of the Danubian Principalities ; the i?OM- 
manich, or Romanese, of the Grisons of Switzerland ; and the Lower Romanese, called 
also the Lafinique, of the Engadine, on the borders of the Tyrol The languages of 
Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France, are the other members of the family. 



38 T^IFE OF COLUMBUS. 

the doctors fear and sliiin bim. This makes him cautious about 
his experiments ; but lie assures me he has placed on record his 
several discoveries, and that they "will be found after his death 
among his papers, for they do not suit the times we live in, 
when all learning is a vain study of abstruse speculations pro- 
ducing nothing useful. I told him the story which you and I 
have both frequently heard, of the Brazen Head — how that he 
and his brother in religion, Friar Thomas Bungey, had labored 
seven years to complete it, in order to know whether it would 
not be possible to inclose England within a wall and rampart, 
and that they failed after all to receive the answer, because not 
expecting it so soon, they were both out of the way, and did not 
hear the reply which the oracle had made. It is very certain 
that the friar has invented many wonderful machines, in particu- 
lar, a head of brass which utters certain sounds. This is un- 
doubtedly the Brazen Plead which gave r?^e to the story of the 
oracle. He showed me curious mirrors of his invention. One 
sort sets fire to any combustible, when under the sun's rays ; 
another, in which figures are made to appear and disappear at 
pleasure ; a third, which enables a person to discover objects at 
a great distance, not discernible by the naked eye." *In the pur- 
suit of these discoveries he has spent a great deal of money. He 
has now succeeded to a large property ; and his family, being 
wealthy, had liberally supplied him with means. He told me 
that he knew a method of combining saltpetre with charcoal in 
certain proportions, so as to produce wonderful eftects on being 
touched with the least possible spark of fire." I had no oppor- 

*' Tlie discovery of an instrument of long sight by the arrangement of convex and 
coneavc glasses in a tube, is generally attributed to a Dutch spectacle-maker of 
Middlebourg, about the year 16<>0; its application in the telescope, to Galileo, who 
began with a magnifying power of four, then of seven, finally of thirty, with which 
he made otit the satellites of Jupiter and the lunar mountains. We see that, nearly 
four centuries before, Bacon had anticipated them. The Cliinese had .such instru- 
ments in use long ages before the Cliristian era. 

-^ The discovery and use of gunpowder are of much older date than is generally al- 
lowed. The German monk, Berthold Schwarz, is commonly credited with the inven- 
tion. But it is noticed in the works of two churchmen who lived a century before 
Schwarz — Albertus Magnus, the Dominican monk, who gave up an archbishopric, to 
be free to pursue his scientific researches ; and our present acquaintance. Friar Bacon. 

Gunpowder was employed in Europe certainly as early as ISSY, if not before, at 
the siege of Niebla, in Sjiain ; and there is no doubt of its having been in use by the 
Arabs much earlier. In an Arab treatise on engines of war, in the early part of the 



GUNPOWDER.— THE MAGNET. 39 

timity of witnessing the experiment, but some persons in whose 
presence he had performed it assured me that it had the closest 
resemblance to thunder and lightning. It is, I suppose, on ac- 
count of the great noise, that the good friar is so cautious of mak- 
ing any trial of it except in retired places, laboring as he does 
under the suspicion of being a necromancer. He further showed 
me a black, ugly stone, the magnet, to which iron readily ad- 
heres. If a needle be rubbed upon it, and then left free to float 
on the surface of water by means of a reed, the point of the 
needle turns, and remains steadily pointing to the polar star. 
So that, be the night ever so obscure, and neither star nor moon 
be visible, the mariner by the help of the needle holds on his 
right course. This discovery, which appears so useful to all who 
voyage by sea, encounters great prejudice, even on the part of 
seamen, so that pilots use it with caution for fear of falling under 
the suspicion of magic, as .every thing which is not understood is 
commonly attributed to some infernal agency. The time will 
come, no doubt, when these prejudices, which are so great a hin- 
derance to research into the secrets of I^ature, will die out, and 
mankind will then reap the benefit of the labors of Friar Bacon, 
and do justice to the genius and industry which now meet with 
mistrust and obloquy." 

We next come upon works of very great value : an elaborate 
" Review of Ancient Astronomy," by John-Baptist Riccioli, the 
great astronomer of Ferrara, also a churchman ; and, by the 
same author, a treatise in twelve books on geography and hy- 
drography. In chapter xviii. of the tenth book of this latter 
work, a chapter on the compass, we are informed that — 

" Under the reign of Saint-Louis (1236- TO), French navigators 
used the magnetized needle, which they kept swimming in a 
little vase of water, supported by two tubes so as not to sink." 

Riccioli claims for the Northmen from a remote antiquity 
the use of the magnet in their navigation. He says : 

thirteenth century it is described under the name by which it is at present known. 
The Arabs may have imported it from China ; but the so-called Qreek fire, which was 
introduced into Greece from China by Callinichus, architect of Heliopolis, in the 
year 673, was nothing else than gunpowder, which was thrown in the form of 
fusees and explosive shells. The Roman fireworks, which began to be used in 
theatrical representations about the end of the third century, were also of Chinese 
origin. Records of that wonderful people carry back the use of gunpowder to a very 
high antiquity. 

4 



40 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

" In the seventh century, the navigators of the Baltic and of 
the German Ocean, instead of a needle, used a triangular piece of 
iron wire, which swam in a small vessel of water, and the use of 
this instrument was considered among them to be of great an- 
tiquity {valde a7itiquns)." 

It is remarkable that the compass which Yasco de Gama 
found in use among the pilots of the Indian Ocean was similar 
to this of the Northmen, only, instead of being of iron wire, it was 
a simple iron plate magnetized, supported on the surface of a 
vase of water in the same way. This we learn from the Cicero 
of Portugal, Bishop Osorio, who, about the middle of the six- 
teenth century, wrote a great work, " De rebus Emmanuelis vir- 
tute et auspicio gestis" (" The Golden Age in Portugal"). 

After the learned authorities, it is pleasant to turn to a 
professor of the gay science, and to find the minstrel as good a 
witness as the mathematician. Gauthicr d'Espinois commences 
one of his ballads M'ith this simile: 

" As ever the maf^net inclines 

The needle, when the charm's once wrought: 
So who my lady's beauty divines, 
lie too's irretrievably caught." 

Gauthier was a friend of Thibaut lY., King of Navarre 
(1205-53), wdio, besides being a renowned warrior and Crusader, 
also cultivated literature and poetry, and left at his death a 
number of ballads, more than sixty of which are still preserved. 

The poem of Gauthier's reminds us of a more ancient idyl, 
from the pen of Claudian, the last of the line of classical poets, 
in whom appeared once more, before its final extinction amid the 
decay and ruins of the Latin Empire, the genius of Horace and 
Yirgil. Claudian had the misfortune to be court-poet to a 7'oi 
fainemit, Ilonorius ; a reign made memorable by the sack and 
pillage of Rome by the Goth Alaric in the year 409. The poem 
whicli we borrow from Claudian, offers an ingenious allusion to 
the loves of Mars and Yenus, founded on 

THE MAGNET, 

" thou, with anxious mind worming out the secrets of Nature, 
Seeking to unravel her mysteries : 

IIow the moon wanes and increases, what power eclipses the sun: 
Who wouldst search out the cavern of the winds. 



THE MAGNET. 41 

And what convulses the bowels of the earth : 

Thou wouldst know — who sends the cloud with the lightning-flash, 

And speaks in the solemn responding peal, 

And what light determines the colors of Iris. 

If thy understanding grasp the truth, inform me also, 

For I long to resolve these problems. 

A stone there is by the name of Magnet, 

Colorless, unattractive, despised ; 

Its lot is not to adorn the hair of the Ctesars, 

Or the alabaster throat of the virgin, 

Nor does it set off as a clasp the warrior's tunic : 

Yet the powers of this dark stone are prized above the fairest gems, 

And whatever the Indian fisherman may produce 

Of Oriental pearls, it will surpass. 

That stone — it lives ! but to iron it owes its life, 

And by the unbending bar it is fed : 

Iron is its nourishment, its stimulus, its banquet; 

It renews through iron its exhausted strength ; 

This rude aliment animates its members 

And long preserves a latent vigor. 

The iron absent, the magnet languishes, 

Sadly numbed with hunger it succumbs. 

And thirst dries up its opened veins. 

"Mars, with blood-stained lance chastising cities — 
Venus, who resolves the miseries of mortals by her tender gifts, 
Have in common the sanctuary of a golden temple. 
The divinities have not the same image : 
Mars appears in the glistening iron, 
The loving-stone represents the Cyprian goddess. 
The priest with the accustomed rites celebrates their union 
The torches light the dance, myrtle crowns the temple-gate. 
The nuptial purple veils the lovers' couch ; 
Then appears a prodigy unheard of: 
Venus of her own force ravishes her spouse. 
Eecalling the bonds of which the gods were witnesses, 
Her voluptuous breathing attracts the limbs of Mars: 
Around the helmet of the God her arms are clasped, 
And with live chains she holds him captive. 
She sustains his weight — while he, 
Excited by the amatory impulse of her breath. 
Allows himself to be ensnared with bands invisible. 
At the Hymen, Nature herself presides. 
A tenacious breath is the marriage-bond ; 
Their stolen bliss with joy the gods renew. 
What secret heat constrains the sympathetic metals? 
What inspires the mutual penchant under their rude exterior? 



42 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Tlic loving-stone glows and betrays a conscious trouble 

In tbe presence of the Iriendly steel : 

Which, in turn, learns the lesson of a placid love. 

Thus, with a look does Venus soften and arrest her bosom's lord, 

AVhen, heated with blood and brandishing naked steel, j 

He urges his fierce coursers and whets their rage. 

Alone, she encounters them : she stills his raging heart, 

She tempers its fury with a milder fiame. 

Peace is restored to his soul. Murderous fights 

He forgets. The blood-red crest is seen to stoop — for a kiss! 

O Love, thou cruel boy ! What sway is not allowed thee ? 

Thou art indifferent to the thunder-bolt of Jove. 

The Thunderer himself, attacked by thee, is fain to quit 

Olympus, and amid the waves bellows as a bull. 

Thy arrows pierce the frozen crag, and forms inanimate: 

Rocks feel thy darts. A secret' ardor consumes the loadstone 

Whose blandishments the liardeued steel cannot resist. 

Tliy flames prevail against the heart of marble." 

This notion of the attraction of Love has given its name to the 
magnet in many languages. Chin-Tsang-ki, tlie author of a 
Chinese Natural History, under the title of " Pent-tzou-chi-hy," 
written twelve hundred years ago, says of the loadstone : 

''It attracts iron as a tender mother attracts her 
Children by love. Hence its name Tsu-chy (loving-stone)." 

This name has also been adopted by the Japanese from the 
Chinese. 

In the ancient language of the Hindoos, the Sanscrit, which has 
been a dead language now some twenty-two hundred years, the 
magnet was called thoumhaka, the kisser, also ayashchitamcui^ i, 
the precious stone heloved of iron. These names remain in the 
modern Indian tongues, Hindoostani, Bengali, etc., and in Sin- 
ghalese, the loving-stone. 

In some of the European languages also the sentiment is found. 
The French call it the aimant, the loving one. In Spanish and 
Portuguese it is inian, erpiivalent to amante, the lover. The inti- 
mate connection for eight hundred years with Asia accounts for 
the prevalence of Oriental ideas and of Oriental names in the 
Peninsula. 

In colder latitudes and among more roving populations, utility 
and hardy activity displace the tender and soft. In Dutch and 
Swedish it is known as the sailing-stone {zeilsteen, and segel ste7i). 



THE MAGNET. 43 

In the British Islands, it is the leading, directing, drawing stone. 
This last is the sense of the Irish tarrangart, the draiDcr^ and 
of the Welsh tyioysfwn, the conductor : while the English load- 
stone corresponds with the notion of the loadstar that leads or 
guides in the heavens. In Icelandic, the identical sense, the con- 
ducting or leader stone ileider-stein). But we have seen Brunetto 
Latini give it in his Romance language, the name of calamite, 
by which it is at present best known in Italy and the Levant 
(It. calamita, Gr. KaXa/xlra). This name is supposed to refer to 
the primitive way of suspending tlie needle on reeds so as to float 
on the surface in a vase of water. Kalamis, in Greek, signifies a 
reed, and 'kalamites a dweller among reeds, and this was the name 
of a very green little frog whose name and address were thus con- 
tained in one word. The Avord calamite in the Romance lan^uao^e 
preserved the ?>eTi^e oi green frog, and was applied to the magnet- 
ized needle from its supposed resemblance to the frog floating on 
reeds. Hugo Bertius, who lived in the reign of Saint-Louis, 
King of France, gives a graphic account of this frog-like appa- 
ratus. The Hebrew term kalmnitah for this stone may, however, 
have the priority of age. It is not found in the Bible, but its 
near congener, chalamish, is found Dent. viii. 15, and xxxii. 13, 
and Psalm cxiv. 8. In the last-cited text it seems to have the 
sense of a cut or sharpened stone. The Talmud calls it the Stone 
of Attraction. The ancient Hebrew prayers contain allusions to 
the magnet under the name of Kalaniitah, and also of Magnis. 
The latter appellation (as magnis, magnes, magnetes, maghnathis, 
magnet, magneet, or other terminations to suit the idiom of the 
people) appears to be almost universal, even where, as in English, 
it is popularly known by another name. It has no such other 
name in German, Russian, and Magyar. In Arabic, Turkish, 
Persian, and kindred languages, every object has a number of 
names," scientific, popular, and figurative : al-maghnathis is the 
usual designation in them all of this stone ; one of its other names 
is the Stone of Devils, and another, the Stone of Attraction. 
There is no doubt that magnet is a Greek word, probably from its 
having been found in great abundance in the province of Mag- 
nesia, in Lydia. The ancient name of the capital of Magnesia was 
Heraclea, or city of Hercules ; hence the magnet was often called 

^^ As many as a thousand, five hundred, and, commonly, hundreds. 



44 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Ai^o^ ijpaKXeia, rendered in English the storic of Hercules, also 
Mar/vriaio^ \iSo<i nnd AvSikt) \iSo<;, the Magnesian, and the Lvdian 
Stone. According to Nicander, a physician who wrote medicine 
in verse, about two hundred years before Christ, it was the 
shepherd Magnes who introduced the stone to the knowledge of 
mankind, and who gave it his own name. He is said to have 
made the discovery when, at the head of his flock, he suddenly 
found himself fastened to the soil by the nails of his sandals and 
the iron point of his staff. 

There can be little doubt that the Phoenicians made use of 
the compass in their voyages. Ancient Phoenician coins bear the 
impress of a vessel, at the prow of which stands a woman (their 
goddess Astarte) holding in one hand a cross and with the other 
pointing the way : the cross symbolized the mariner's compass or 
cross of the ancients, which is thus described by an Arabian writer 
of the thirteenth century (1242), Boulak Kibdjalick : " They 
take a cup of water, which they shelter from the wind ; they then 
take a needle, which they fix in a peg of wood or straw, so as to 
fonn a cross / they then take the magnes and turn round for 
some time above the cup, moving from left to right, tlie needle 
following ; they then withdraw the magnes, alter which the 
needle stands still and points north and south." 

The cross, then, was a fit emblem or coat-of-arms for a great 
commercial and maritime people, like the Phoenicians. The com- 
pass was their guide ; they symbolized it by the goddess Astarte, 
who, with her magnetic cross, indicated to them a path across the 
pathless waves. 

Hercules was the patron divinity of the Phoenicians. This was 
also natural ; the magnes, or stone of Hercules, was indispensable 
to the mariner, as it was the chief agent in making the compass 
which was his guide. 

The name given to the magnet by the ancient Egyptians 
shows that they were acquainted with its two opposite pro])erties 
of attraction and repulsion. The loadstone was called the bone 
of Haroeri, and the iron the bone of Typhon. Ilaroeri was the 
son of Osiris'* and of Isis, who conceived him while in the 
womb of her own mother Khea, so that he was born at the same 

2* In Egypt brother and sister often became man and wife. While in Egvpt, 
Abniham and Isaac gave out that Sarah and Rebecca were not wives, but miglit at 
any moment betaken in marriage by their protended brotliers if not oUurwhe engaged. 



THE MAGNET. 45 

moment with both his parents. Isis was the emblem of the 
generative and fructifying powers of Nature — Haroeri that of 
the Universal Cause : while Typhon, also a son of Rhea, liaving 
destroyed Osiris, the Egyptian Messiah, the benefactor of human- 
ity, became the emblem of Destruction, the ideal of the powers 
of Nature inimical to man, as among the winds the dread Ty- 
j)hoon. The crocodile and the scorpion are sacred to Typhon. 
Considering Nature, in the state of union and decomposition, 
under the symbol of Haroeri and Typhon, the Egyptian priests 
seem to have seen an image of these conditions in the action of 
the loadstone on the iron, according as the stone attracted or 
repelled the metal. 

Indeed, ample evidence exists that the characteristics of mag- 
netism, and, to some extent, the closely-related phenomena of 
electricity, were known both to Egyptian priests and to Greek nat- 
uralists. Diogenes Laertius, in his " Lives of the Philosophers ," 
gives a list of Aristotle's works, among which is a volume on the 
loadstone, entitled Uepi Trj<i Ai%v — a precious contribution to 
science which has not survived the lamentable destruction of the 
great Greek libraries. But we have preserved fragments of a 
work of that truly encyclopedic master, on stones in general — 
their extraction, the mines and the countries that supplied 
them, their properties, varieties, colors, and their application in 
the arts and in medicine. In this work, Ilepl rwv Al^oov, Aris- 
totle described no less than seven hundred different lands of 
stones, minerals, and metals, the greater part of which were un- 
known even by name to the non-artistic majority of men. "We 
cite the following passage from this work as a condensed ex- 
position of all that can be said even to this day upon the 
magnetic forces in the loadstone, upon magnetism by influence 
or artificial magnets, and especially on the polarity of the 
magnet : 

" The occult force by which this stone attracts iron, acts even 
through interposed solid bodies as well as through the air. It 
has not only an attractive force, but also that of repulsion ; by 
the one angle it flies from the iron, while with the other face it 
attracts it. The one face, of itself regards the north, the oppo- 
site one the south. Now, the magnet has the property of infus- 

Cleopatra was the wife of her two brothers successively, Ptolemy XII. and XTII., as 
well as the mistress of Caesar and of Marc Antony. 



46 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

ing these forces into an iron bar — wIugIi on being applied to the 
loadstone immediately exercises both attraction and repulsion, 
and assumes precisely the same direction — the one angle regard- 
ing the north, the other the south. If to this iron you apply an- 
other bar, the former will produce the same effects upon the lat- 
ter as the loadstone itself." 

In the work on the Soul, Ilepl Wv^v^, of the same great 
genius, he reverts to this topic, speaking of the loadstone as 7) 
Xidt], the stone, par excellence : 

^^^EoiK€ Be Kol 0a\r}<; i^ cov aTrofivrjfjLovevovai, kivtjtikop tl ttjv 
"^vyrjv vTToXa^elv, elirep rov XiBov ec^rj •^v)(}}v e^eiv, ore top aiStjpov 
Kivel" 

" IsTow, even Tliales seems, according to what has been hand- 
ed down concerning him, to have held that whatever communi- 
cates movement possesses a soul ; ' thus, the stone,' he said, ' has 
a soul because it sets iron in motion.' " 

Ancient Chinese topographical works also contain allusions 
to the minerals of their own and neighboring countries, and de- 
scribe situations \vhere they abound. The " Nan Chouan i wey 
clii," or " Memoirs on the Phenomena of the Southern Territo- 
ries," relate that — 

" On the capes and headlands of the Chang-hai (the southern 
sea on the coasts of Tonquin and Cochin-china) shallows abound, 
and a vast amount of magnetic stone, so that the large foreign 
ships which are fastened with iron plates are attracted as they 
approach the coast and drawn inshore by the great accumulation 
of loadstones, and they cannot get past such spots, which are 
very numerous in the south." 

It is a remarkable coincidence that the greatest of ancient 
astronomers, Claudius Ptolemy, was aware of this phenomenon 
in the China seas. In the very detailed enumeration and de- 
scription of the coasts and islands of those waters, contained in 
the second chapter of the seventh book of his " Geography," he 
says : 

" ^arupcov vjjaoi, wv to fiera^i) /xoipat, pod '''.... TavTa<; 
01 KaTe^ovTe<i ovpa^ ^X^^^ Xeyovrai,, oTrola^; 8iaypd(f)ovai, Ta<; rwv 
aarvpcov. (f^epovrat, 8e koI aXkai avvex^iv SeKa' ev al<; (f>dcrc ra 

^"Ptolemy's zero of longitude was on the meridian of tlie Fortunate Islands 
(Canaries), the westernmost land known to him. His localities arc identified by data 
more reliable than his flgures, which are often wide of the truth. 



THE MAGNET. 47 

aiSr]pov<; e'^ovra -^Xov^ ifKola Kare'^eaSai, ^rjirore rrj^ rjpaKkeiaii 
XlS^ov irepi avTa<i yevvcofxevr]';. Bta tovto €7riovpot<i vavirrj'yeLcr^ai • 
Kari'x^etv ye koX avTa<i av^poi7ro(pd<yov<i Ka\ov/jievov<; Mavpi6Xa<;J^ 

" The islands of the satyrs, the centre one of which is 171° 
.... Those who inhabit these isles are fabled to have tails, such 
as are drawn for satyrs. There are said to be other islands to the 
number of ten, lying near these, at which ships having iron 
fastenings are arrested by the stone of Hercules there existing, 
wherefore ships are put together with treenails. The islands are 
said to be in the possession of man-eaters called Manioles." 

Centuries earlier, one greater than Ptolemy had made allu- 
sion to this phenomenon. Aristotle, who, accompanying his 
pupil Alexander the Great in his Asiatic expedition, accumulated 
vast stores of facts in natural history in the many countries 
overrun, affirms in the above-mentioned work, Tlepl rcov Ai^av, 
that — 

" On the coasts of the Indian Ocean are masses of mae^netic 
rock. If vessels approach, they lose their nails and iron fasten- 
ings, which are attracted away from the vessels so that the force 
of cohesion of the wood cannot retain them. On account of 
these dangers, ships that navigate those seas are not fastened with 
iron nails, but with nails of soft wood that swell in the water." 

Galen, the great Greek physician, also writing a work on 
stones, declares : 

" On the coasts of the Indian Ocean the magnet is found in 
great abundance, so that seamen dare not take their ships in 
close to the shore if fastened with iron nails, nor must they have 
any sort of iron- work ; for, on approaching those magnetic cliifs, 
all the nails and whatever of iron they possess are attracted away 
by the magnetic force." 

The mention of Galen reminds us of a word upon our theme 
from another physician, who was also busy with stones, Marcel- 
lus Empiricus, physician of Theodosius the Great, the last sov- 
ereign of an undivided Roman Empire. He says : 

"The loadstone, called A7Uiphi/son, attracts and repels 
iron." 

These words show a familiarity, as early as the fourth cen- 
tury, with the inverse action of the poles of the magnet or the 
existence of two magnetic fluids. The term Antijyhyson admi- 
rably expresses this natural incomj^atilility. 



48 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

St. Ambrose (in the sixth century) gives a narrative of a 
Theban's voyages in tlie Indian Ocean. Speaking of the island 
Taprobana (Ceylon), he says : 

" There are about a thousand other islands called Mannioles, 
which are subject to the chief of the four kings of Taprobana. 
In them is found in great abundance the stone called magnes^ 
which attracts the nature of iron by its force : so that, if a ship 
approach that has iron nails, she is retained there and cannot get 
farther, by I know not what hinderance, the source of which is 
in that stone. For this reason wooden nails are exclusively used 
to fasten ships in that trade." 

The abundance of magnetic rocks and sands in the Eastern 
seas is noticed in a later age by the Arab geographers. Clierif- 
Edrisi, who wrote a number of geographical treatises, and con- 
structed a terrestrial globe in silver for King Roger of Sicily 
about the middle of the twelfth century, relates of El-Mandeb, 
at the Hed Sea straits called Bab-el-Mandeb (the Mandeb Gate) : 

" It is a mountain surrounded on all sides by the sea, and 
highest on the southern side. Its direction is northwest, and its 
length twelve miles. "Where it approaches the Abyssinian coast 
it is broken into islets and reefs of considerable extent, so that 
that part of the sea is not navigable. In the midst of these reefs 
and isles, there is a range called Moorookein, not very much ele- 
vated above the level of the sea. It is a continuous mass of 
magnetic rocks, and no vessel fastened with iron nails may ven- 
ture to pass near it, without risk of being drawn inshore and 
retained there." 

In his geographical works this author mentions repeatedly 
the use of the magnet in navigation. A sinn'lar account of 
masses of oxide of iron on the coasts of Arabia and India, is 
given by Bailak, a native of Kipchak, near Cairo, who wrote also 
an elaborate and most curious treatise on stones, called " Thesau- 
rus of Merchants for the Knowledge of Stones." He devotes a 
considerable space to a description of the loadstone, its i)roper- 
ties and uses in navigation, and it is evident that he is not writ- 
ing of an art newly invented or received, but of an apparatus 
generally known and used in the Levant. What he says of the 
use of the magnetic fish, in the Indian seas, goes, with other 
authorities cited, to show that this was the primitive form of sea- 
compass all the world over : 



THE COMPASS. 49 

" I was an eje-witness, during a voyage from Tripoli in Syria 
to Alexandria, in the year 640, of tlie practice of the Syrian pilots 
in making use of the loadstone. 

" The night was so obscure that no star could be perceived so 
as to enable the seamen to make out the four cardinal points. 
But there was a vase filled with water placed in the interior of 
the ship, on the surface of which floated a needle fixed in a 
wooden or reedy float in the form of a cross, the needle having 
first been rubbed with a loadstone just large enough to fill the 
palm of the hand, or smaller. The needle thus magnetized, by 
its two points looks north and south. Navigators in the Indian 
Ocean, instead of the needle and its reed or wooden float, as with 
us, make use of a magnetic iron fish, hollow, and so constructed 
that when it is thrown into the water it swims, audit indicates by 
its head and tail the two points south and north. The expla- 
nation of the fish floating, though of iron, is this : that all metallic 
bodies, even the hardest and heaviest, when made into hollow 
vessels, displace a larger quantity of water than their weight, and 
not only swim on the surface, but can carry a weight as a coun- 
terpoise to the water displaced." ^^ 

Bailak reminds us of a very common school experiment in 
physics. After having exhibited the needle fixed on a pivot, 
the operator places it on a disk of cork floating in a vase of water. 
The disk is observed to turn slowly round and stop exactly when 
the needle acquires the identical direction it had when on the 
pivot. In this experiment it is an important point that the disk 
turns only, in one sense or the other ; it does not advance either 
toward the north or the south, whence the conclusion is that the 
force acting on the needle is in reality not attractive but simply 
directing. 

The iron fish recalls the notion of the old Provengal and Le- 
vant sailors before mentioned, of a green frog, in their name of 
the instrument, calamite, a notion beyond all doubt of Oriental 
origin : the creature is known to the Burmese navigators as the 
lizard. 

The names by which the case or instrument containing the 
needle is known, generally express the simple notion of a box or 
inclosure. In the northern languages — English, Dutch, Ger- 

''^It is a pity Bailak did not let us know whether this principle, so clearly enunciated, 
had been utilized in the construction of iron ships, in his day. 



50 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

man, Russian, and the Scandinavian dialects — there is but one 
word, compass, or I'omjyass, signifyino^ the eneompassino: or 
inclosing thing. The box is more distinctly expressed by the 
Italian name hussola, equivalent to the modem word bossolo, a 
box, whence, in Portuguese and Polish, htssohi, and in French 
boussole, and modern Greek mpousoulas. There is also in 
Arabic a word applied to the compass — one of its numerous 
names in that lanmiao-e — very much resemblinsr in sound the 
Italian name ; it is moossaleh, and in Arabic the initial m has 
frequently a cold in the head, and is pronounced b." This Arabic 
word signifies a daH or j)ohif, which seems artistic and charac- 
teristic of the instrument, while the notion of a box would rep- 
resent the rude appreciation of a person ignorant of the essential 
contents. It is possible that bussola is derived from the Arabic 
word, and may not have been suggested by the low Latin buxis 
or any other word signifying box. 

It is also possible that the word originated in the Arabic 
name for the ocean. Edrisi (El Edressi), an Arabian writer on 
geography, of the twelfth century, says : 

" The outer ocean, that in which the compass was necessary, 
is called El Bahar el Bossul, the violent (boussale is the present 
name for the compass), as distinguished from El BaliarEl ^fuit." 

Tiie Italians or Amalfitans in their trade with the Saracens 
must have become in a measure acquainted with the language of 
the Arabs, hence perhaps the word bussola was first applied, in 
Italian, to the compass. 

The popular name of the compass in the Turkish marine is 
pousola. But its most accepted designation in Arabic and in 
the kindred dialects, the Turkish and Persian, is I'ibleh tiomehy 
signifying tnirroi' of the south, and A'ibleh mnnd, indicator of 
the south. Most likely this denomination came from the Chinese, 
who hold that the magnetic needle points to the south, and call 
it chi nan, indicator of the south. The south is most in honor 
throughout Asia. In China the throne is always turned toward 
the south, as is the principal facade of all public buildings. The 
south is considered the f font, the north the bad', of the world. 
The piety of the Mussulman supports this opinion. He turns 
his face, in saying his prayers, toward the temple of Mecca, which 
is, in general, situated southward from Mohammedan countries. 

*' E. g., .]fahomct, oflciJ pronounced Bnphontel. 



THE COMPASS. 51 

The Arab word TcibUhy therefore, signifying that which should be 
in fronts or facing us, is apphed to the southern part of the 
heavens, means south, and to the southward. Perfectly synony- 
mous with it, is the Chinese word thsian, which is used in both 
acceptations. 

We have seen that, in the days of Roger Bacon, the use of the 
compass was one of the arts supposed to have some connection 
with an infernal agency. We have not, however, found in the 
languages of Europe, wdiich we have mentioned,^' this idea of 
necromancy expressed in the popular name of the instrument. 
The Spanish alone has this merit. In that language, the name 
by which the compass is known, is not allied with, or derived 
from, its name in any other tongue : it conveys distinctly the 
notion of sorcery or divination. Bi^ijo means a man in pact 
with the Evil One, a sorcerei". The verb hrujulear is, to prac- 
tise divination. Brujula is the compass. Those who gave it 
this name evidently considered it, in some degree, of preter- 
natural and magical origin ; hence we find the Spanish pilots 
avoid the general term compass, hriijula, preferring the more 
specific and technical needle, la aguja. On the other hand, 
among the followers of the Prophet, the compass is an essential 
part of the material of devotion. The pious Mussulman in 
prayer, as we have said, turns his face toward the temple of 
Mecca, and carries the compass about him habitually with this 
purpose. 

In the waitings of the Arabs, and of the Chinese from a very 
early date, traces abound of their acquaintance with the variation 
of the compass, though the discovery is one of the reimted, glo- 
ries of Columbus, founded on an entry in the journal of his first 
voyage under date of September 17, 1492. But, if he under- 
stood the phenomenon, he has not done himself justice, since 
the journal records his conviction that the star had shifted, 
not the needles. Eournier, on the other hand, in his " Hydro- 
graphy" (chapter x., of book xi.), attributes the earliest record 
of the needle's declination to Sebastian Cabot. We feel no 
doubt, however, that the pilots both of England and the Penin- 
sula had made the observation before the days of Columbus and 

^^Guyot de Provins calls it A?naniere in the poem already cited. This was proba- 
bly a modification of Aimant. It was afterward known as la Mariniere, no doubt on 
account of the services it renders mariner^s. 



52 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Cabot. The publication of bis journal bas given Columbus tbe 

preeminence in tbe European roll of fame. 

But Kow-tsung-cby, autlior of a work of great erudition, a 

medico-natural bistorv, G:iven to tbe world about tbe vear 1110 

"... "a 

of our era, gives tbe following notice of tbe loadstone, and of tbe 

polarity and tbe declination of tbe magnetic needle : 

"It is covered witb small sligbtly-reddisb spots, and its sur- 
face is studded witb rougb points. It attracts iron and adheres 
to it, and on that account is called TJie stone that sniffs the iron. 
When rubbed with tbe loadstone, an iron - pointed instrument 
acquires tbe property of pointing to tbe south — not, however, 
absolutely due south, declining always toward the east. This 
needle, on being passed through a reed so as to float on tbe sur- 
face of water, turns to the south, but always with a declination 
toward the point Ping," (that is, east 5° 6' south) " which is tbe 
great central Are." 

The Chinese, who regard tbe south as the principal pole, speak 
of tbe declination of tbe magnetic needle at Peking as pretty 
constantly 2° to 2° 30' east., while European observers, reckoning 
from tbe opposite pole of the needle, would call it icest declina- 
tion. Nevertheless, the Chinese liave not always taken into ac- 
count in their public works this variation of tbe compass. Thus, 
tbe east and west walls of Peking, constructed under tbe second 
emperor of tbe dynasty of Ming, are not due north and south, 
but decline 2° 30' fi-om south to east. Hence it is evident that 
tbe walls were oriented by the compass without allowing for dec- 
lination of the magnetic needle. 

Nothing is more curious than tbe accidental vestiges, like so 
many fossil traces, of tbe practical arts which are supposed to 
be of modern and European invention, among tbe oldest records 
of Central Asia — often in tbe midst of poetic fictions and tbe ex- 
travagances of Eastern mythologies. In the earliest cba]>ters of 
Chinese annals, tbe magnet, its attractive force, its polarity, its 
application, are thus revealed as tbe property of tbe various Tar- 
tar tribes in wandering over the trackless steppe. At tbe head ot 
tbe caravan went a car, on the box of which stood tbe figure of a 
presiding genius, whose right arm, outstretched, contained a mag- 
net. However tbe car turned and returned, the liand of tbe gen- 
ius pointed ever to tbe south. Modern Chinese history attributes 
tbe invention of this magnetic car to the great Emperor Wang- 



MAGNETIC CAR. 



53 



ti, who reigned about 2, TOO years before Christ. But the pas- 
sage in the "Wai-ki, the most ancient chronicle, cited as the 
record of the invention by Wang-ti, has nothing to show that it 
was then first invented, or that it had not previously been a well- 
known resource of ti-avelers. The chronicle sets forth simply 
that Wang-ti, in a campaign against a formidable pretender to 
the throne, at a time when the fogs were so dense as to throw 
his troops into disorder, had such cars made in order that his 
army might distinguish the four quarters, or cardinal points, so 
that each division might occupy its proper position. This inter- 




Chinese Magnetic Cae. 

esting passage of the Wai'-ki is cited in the " Tung-Kian-Kang- 
Mou," or " Grand Annals of China," which also borrows from an- 
other ancient chronicle an account of a diplomatic mission from 
the Yue-chang-Chi, a nation occupying a part of the peninsula 
of Malacca, to the Emperor Ching-Wang, 1,110 years before 
Christ. 

" The Yue-Chang-Chi, who are to the south of Kiao-Chi " 
(Anam), "sent three envoys, separately, with presents to the em- 
peror, of white pheasants. They sent word at the same time 
that as the distance was very great, and the country intersected 



54 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

-vvitli lofty mountains and deep rivers, a single envoy might not 
reach the court, and that they judged it best to send three, 

" Chiou-Kung (uncle and prime-minister of the emperor) re- 
ceived the envoys and said : 'If the benefits of our prince's vir- 
tue had not been widely diffused, he would not ha\e received 
this liomage ; if his mode of government and his laws were not 
known and approved eveiywhere, our prince would not have 
counted these nations among his vassals.' The envoys declared 
the motive of their mission : ' The senate and the white-haired 
old men of our country have come to the conclusion that, as 
during three years. Heaven had sent neither furious winds nor 
protracted rains ; that, as there had been no convulsions inland 
or inroads of the sea, a holy person must have appeared in the 
Centra] Kingdom (China). Hence they send us, to present the 
homage of our people.' 

" Chiou-Kung then conducted them to the temple of the an- 
cestors of the imperial family, and offered a solemn sacrifice be- 
fore the images of the ancient kings. The embassy, on return- 
ing to their own country, missed their way, whereupon Chiou- 
Kung presented them with five traveling-cars, constructed to 
show the south. The envoys of the Tue-Chang-Chi, traveling 
by these cars, reached safely the sea-coast, which they followed as 
far as the kingdoms of Fou-nan and Lin-y " (Gulf of Bengal), 
" and reached liome the year following. The cars which showed 
the south were always driven in advance to show the way to 
the company behind, and to let them know the jDOsition of the 
four cardinal points." 

TTe also read that, when the emperor went out in state, the 
procession was always headed by the magnetic car, which Avas 
driven by the emperor's master of the horse. To familiarize 
the people with the four cardinal points was considered one of 
the most important ends of state progress ; and magnetic cars 
were oflficially distributed to governors of provinces and the 
great nobles. 

But the magnetic car for long journeys was provided with 
another ingenious contrivance — destined to measure and report 
the distance traversed. By a sort of clock-work set in motion 
by the wheels of the car, at the end of every league a figure of a 
man in wood, with a wooden mallet, was made to start out and 
give a smart tap on a drum, and a wheel made one revolution. 



CHINESE PvEOORDS DESTROYED. 55 

At the tenth revolution, another wooden manikin overhead rang 
a bell. 

Unhappily, in the year 223 before Christ, the Emperor Chi- 
"Wang-ti ordered all the historical monuments of legislation and 
of the government and progress of the country to be collected 
and burnt, with the view, not only of abolishing the ancient laws 
and constitution, but of extinguishing the very memory of the 
past. The application of this decree seems to have extended 
beyond the writings — to their authors and students — for we find 
that no less than five hundred men of letters who had concealed 
themselves in the mountains were hunted out, and condemned, 
together with their libraries and papers, to the flames. 

The mischief was to a certain degree retrieved by this barba- 
rian's successor, who had all the books that had escaped the 
flames carefully sought out, atid surviving traditions committed 
to writing. The works of Confucius (Kung-tze), and other re- 
puted sacred books, were recovered ; but alas ! the destruction 
of records of art and science had been but too successful. Espe- 
cially scanty are the records of navigation. There are, however, 
preserved allusions to voyages to the mouths of the Indus, in 
which the vessels are said to have been directed by the magnetic 
needle pointing to the south. The " You Kio Kou zu Kioung- 
lin," or, " The Garden of Eed Jasper for Youth to rejoice 
in the Treasures of Antiquity," a sort of cyclopsedia, attributes 
to Choo-Kung, who lived 1,100 years before our era, the con- 
struction of both magnetic cars and compasses. And the 
" Grand Annals of China," entitled " Tung Kian Kang-mou," in 
relating the wars of the great Emperor "Wang-ti, already men- 
tioned, cite ancient authorities with which we are unacquainted, 
to the eifect that during his reign the compass, of which the 
needle pointed to the south and the north, was in use, and that 
by means of its indications of the quarters of the heavens, build- 
ings were oriented, and merchants and travelers performed their 
journeys. These are the sole passages in which the use of the 
compass as such is expressly mentioned as in use at that remote 
period, though it could not be doubted that,^nce the polarity of 
the magnet known, as has been shown by the example of the 
magnetic car, so ingenious a people would not fail in mechanical 
appliances suited to the special circumstances and requirements 
of each class of the community. Indeed, the magnetic rod in 



56 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

the arm of a wooden figure was in all probability an elaboration 
of an original mechanism, which must have been simpler and on 
a smaller scale, as in the form of a magnetized needle made to 
float on water or to move freely on a pivot. There is, then, 
every reason to believe that the use of the compass in China is 
of an antiquity more remote than the reign of AVang-ti, M-hich, 
as we have said, was about 2,700 years before the Christian era. 

The instrument chiefly in use at that early period appears 
to have been the water-compass, which we have already seen 
in use by the Northmen and the Arabs. In a vase filled with 
water the needle was made to float, supported by two reeds. 

The following passage, from a curious and voluminous collec- 
tion of facts and observations, of manners and usages, in North 
and East Tartary, by Nicolaes Witsen, the celebrated Burgo- 
master of Amsterdam, published about the middle of the last 
century, shows that, down to a comparatively recent period, 
the compass of this primitive type universal was still in use in 
the Chinese waters. This extract, which has other statements 
fitted to arrest attention, forms part of a chapter on the penin- 
sula of the Corea, the land forming the east coast of the great 
inland water called the Yellow Sea, on the northwestern part of 
which is the Gulf of Pe-che-li and the mouth of the Pei-lio, on 
whose banks stands Peking : 

" Ilet Buskruit, zoo wel als den Druk, is van voor duizend 
jaer by hen, zoo zy zeggen, bekent geweest ; gelijk als mede 
het compas, hoewel van andere gadaente als hier te lande, want 
zy bedienen zich slechts van een klein houtje voor scherp en 
achter stomp, 't geen in een tobbe waters werd geworpen, en dus 
met de scherpe punt Zuyden wyst ; na alien schyn zal daer bin- 
nen de Magnetische kraclit verborgen zyn. Acht streeken winds 
weten zy te onderscheiden. De compassen zyn ook van twee 
houtjes, kruiswys over malkander gelegt, daervan een der ein- 
den 't geen Zuyden wyst wat vooruit stecht." 

" Gunpowder and printing have been known to them, so they 
say, above a thousand years : the same of the compass, though 
of a somewhat difF^ent form to ours. They use only a small 
bit of wood, sharp m front and blunt behind ; this is placed in a 
tub of water, and the sharp point points to the south, in all 
probability from the magnetic force concealed therein. They dis- 
tinguish eight points or rhumbs of winds. They have also com- 



CHINESE COMPASS. 5Y 

passes composed of two pieces of wood laid over each other cross- 
wise, of which one of the ends which shows the south projects." 

But the compass without water, in which the magnetic needle 
rest on a pivot, is also very ancient in China. The needle rarely 
exceeds an inch in length and not a line in thickness. It is sus- 
pended with extreme delicacy and is singularly sensitive, that is, 
it appears to move with the slightest movement of the box to 
east or west, although in fact the magnet and the perfection 
of the mechanism which contains it, consist in this, that the 
needle is deprived of all movement, and remains constantly di- 
rected to the same point of the heavens, whatever be the ra- 
pidity with which the box of the compass may be turned, or the 
other objects which surround it. This regularity of their com- 
pass is the result of a Chinese invention. A band of thin cop- 
per is placed about the centre of the needle and fixed by the 
edges on the outside of a small hemispheric cup, reversed, of the 
same metal. This cup admits a pivot of steel, which comes from 
a cavity made in a circular bit of cork or very light wood, which 
forms the box of the compass. The surface of the cup and that 
of the pivot are perfectly polished, so as to avoid any sort of fric- 
tion. The edges of the cup are proportionably large, adding to 
its weight, and act so that the cup tends to preserve the centre 
of gravity in any and every situation of the compass. The cavity 
in which the needle is thus suspended has a circular form, and 
is only just sufficient to take the needle with the cup and pivot. 
Over the cavity there is a thin piece of transparent talc, which 
prevents the needle being affected by the outer air, while per- 
mitting the observation of its slightest movement. 

The small needle of the Chinese compass has a great advan- 
tage over those which are used in Europe, with respect to the in- 
clination toward the horizon, which in the European compasses re- 
quires that one end should be heavier than the other to counter- 
balance the magnetic attraction. But this inclination differing 
in different parts of the world, the needle can be absolutely cor- 
rect only in the place where the instrument was constructed. 
In the short and light needles suspended in the fashion of the 
Chinese, the weight which is below the point of suspension is 
more than sufficient to overcome the magnetic force of the in- 
clination in every part of the globe. Thus these needles never 
have any deviation in their horizontal position. 



58 LIFE OF COLUYBCJS. 

The Chinese compass is, apart from the magnetic needle, 
quite a work of art, representing a highly-elaborated system of 
physics and astrology. In this sketch we can do no more than 
give a rough notion of it; to enter into detailed explanation 
would unduly tax the interest of our readers in Chinese habits 
of thought and then- antique learning, which however, at present 
remote, will soon become one of the most interesting inquiries, 
especially in America, whither the magnetic charm of political 
equality and personal freedom, together with the bounteous gifts 
of Nature, attract an exodus from every clime, of the stamina and 
the hope of the nations. 

The surface of the compass, outside the space in which the 
needle performs its function, is divided into a great number of 
concentric divisions, which are intersected by an infinity of lines 
in a direction from the centre to the circumference. The inner 
circle contains the characters of the eight principal points, repre- 
sented by animals, as in the signs of the zodiac. The second has 
four-and-twenty compartments, representing the four-and-twenty 
winds. In the third and fourth circles, the same number of com- 
partments, w^ith inscriptions having a moral and mystical import. 
The fifth contains seventy-two compartments, twelve of which 
remaining blank, the other sixty are filled with combinations of 
the two cycles of twelve and of six. As a specimen of the whole, 
we will give one of the series of cyclical signs : 



Ou, 


the Horse 


= South. 


Wei, 


(( 


Sheep 


= S.iW. 


Chiriy 


u 


Ape 


= S. 1 w. 


Yeou, 


il 


Hen 


= West. 


Siu, 


a 


Dog 


= W. i K 


Hdi, 


li 


Pig 


= W. 1 K 


Tm, 


a 


Kat 


= North. 


TcJieou, 


u 


Ox 


= K i E. 


In, 


a 


Tiger 


= N. 1 E. 


Mao, 


a 


Hare 


= East. 


Chin, 


a 


Dragon 


= E. i S. 


Szu, 


u 


Serpent 


= E. f S. 


The sixth circle contains one hundred and twenty compart- 


ments. The seventh, again 


L, 01 


aly twenty-four. The eighth con- 


tains the sixty combinations before mentioned, with some slight 



CHINESE COMPASS. 59 

variation. The ninth, tenth, and eleventh, are modified repe- 
titions of the preceding. The twelfth circle contains, in sixty- 
combinations, the names twelve times repeated of the five Chi- 
nese elements, combined with the five divisions of the year, the 
five regions of the world, and the five principal colors. Thus : 



Moo, 


Wood, 


Spring, 


East, 


Green. 


Ho, 


Fire, 


Summer, 


South, 


Eed. 


Too, 


Earth, 


Mid-year, 


Midst, 


Yellow. 


Kin, 


Metal, 


Autumn, 


West, 


White. 


Chooi, 


Water, 


Winter, 


North, 


Black. 



The thirtieth circle contains the three hundred and sixty 
degrees of the twenty-eight celestial palaces (or the zodiac), con- 
tained in the fifteenth circle. 

The fourteenth contains the symbols of the foregoing. 

The fifteenth circle contains the twenty-eight palaces of the 
Chinese ecliptic, which are : 







In the South : 


1. 


Tsing, 


the Well, containing less than 30 degrees, 


2. 


Kouei, 


" Evil Genius, containing 2|- " 


3. 


Lieo, 


" Willow " 131 a 


4. 


Sing, 


" Star, containing more than 6 " 


5. 


Chang, 


" Bended Bow, " 17 " 


6. 


r. 


" Light, containing less than 20 " 


7. 


Thin, 


" Motion, " more " 18 " 



In the West : 
8. Kh&uei, the Seat [corporeal], containing 18 degrees. 



9. 


Leoo, 


" 


Yacuum, more than 


12 


10. 


Wei, 




Stomach, containing 


15 


11. 


Mao, 




Pleiades, " 


11 


12. 


Py, 




End, " 


16i 


13. 


Tse, 




Beak, « 


3i 


14. 


Tzan, 




Addition, " 
In the North : 


9i 



15. Teoo, the Bushel, containing more than 22 degrees. 

16. moo, " Ox, " 7 " 

17. Neu, " Woman, " 11 " 



60 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



18. Ileu^ " VaDity, containing less than 9 " 

19. Ouei, " Danger, " 16 " 

20. Chy, " Edifice, " less than IS " 

21. Py, " Wall, " more than 9 " 

Li the East : 

22. Kio, the Horn, containing more than 12 degrees. 

23. Kang, " Neck, " " 9 "' 

24. Ti, " Origin, " less than 10 " 

25. Fang, " House, " more than 5 " 

26. Sin, " Heart, " 6 '' 

27. Wei, " Tail, " IS " 

28. Ei, " Sieve, " 9^ " 

Such, then, was the knowledge possessed in the earliest ages 
of what is generally termed a comparatively modem invention ; 
such were the facilities possessed by the ancients for making 
long voyages, for crossing the wide ocean. We see no reason to 
doubt, therefore, that they were as eminent in navigation as 
history allows them to have been in other arts. The astrolabe, 
somewhat similar in construction to the armillary sphere, but 
more simple, found favor with the astrologers of the East in their 
observations of the stars ; as early as 1 50 b. c. we find it used 
by the Egyptian astronomer Hipparchus. 

Thus far we have slioAvn a few of the many " great modern 
inventions " which were undoubtedly known to the ancients," 
and may we not justly infer that others were equally well known 
which are not mentioned in the writings which have reached us, 
or mention of which has been misconstrued. Does not the wise 
and ancient author of the book of Job accurately describe the 
art of printing in the exclamation : " O that mine adversary had 
written a book !...() that my words were now written ! O 
that they were printed in a book I That they were graven with 
an iron pen and lead in the rock forever ! " 

Plere are allusions to the arts of writing, printing, lithog- 
raphy, stereotyping, and book - making, of which Dildad the 

-' Diodorus especially admires, among tlie many arts and inventions of the Egyp- 
tians, their mode of rearing poultry by artificial heat ; his minute description of the 
process would enable any ordinary mechanic to proceed on the same principle ; yet 
the " invention of rearing poultry by artificial means " has been patented in our day 
and extolled as one of the great proofs of progress in human Intelligence. 



PRINTING— TELEGRAPHING. 61 

Shuliite asks no explanation ; we may therefore infer that Job 
was speaking of matters well understood/" 

Addison tells us that Strada," " in one of his prolusions, gives 
an account of a chimerical correspondence between two friends 
by the help of a certain loadstone which had such virtue in it 
that, if it touched two several needles, when one of the needles so 
touched began to move, the other, though at never so great a dis- 
tance, moved at the same time, and in the same manner. 

" He tells us that the two friends, being each of them pos- 
sessed of one of these needles, made a kind of dial-plate, inscrib- 
ing it with the four-and-twenty letters, in the same manner as 
the hours of the day are marked upon the ordinary dial-plate. 
They then fixed one of the needles on each of these plates in 
such a manner that it could move round without impediment, so 
as to touch any of the four-and-twenty letters. Upon their sepa- 
rating from one another into different countries, they agreed to 
withdraw themselves punctually into their closets at a certain 
hour of the day, and to converse with one another by means of 
their invention. 

" Accordingly, when they were some hundred miles asunder, 
each of them shut himself up in his closet at the time appointed, 
and immediately cast his eye upon the dial-plate. If he had a 
mind to write any thing to his friend, he directed his needle to 
every letter that formed the words which he had occasion for, 
making a little pause at the end of every word or sentence, to 
avoid confusion. The friend, in the mean while, saw his own 
sympathic needle moving of itself to every letter which that of 
his correspondent pointed at. By this means they talked to- 
gether across the whole continent, and conveyed their thoughts 
to one another in an instant, over cities or mountains, seas or 
deserts*." 

Allowing for slight incongruities and possible exaggerations 
of one who, ignorant of the real nature of electricity, confounded 
the properties of this phenomenon with those of the loadstone, 
this anecdote embodies the whole system of telegraphing with 
a dial- plate as it is now practised in some European countries. 
It is far from improbable that friends in very early times may 

^^ Job seems, moreover, to have a realizing sense of the awful advantages possessed 
by a reviewer over the unfortunate enemy who should have written a book, 
3' A writer of the sixteenth century. 



62 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

have used electricity (the existence of which was known in the 
time of Thales) as a means of correspondence, and that electric tele- 
graphing was known, if not universally, at least to the learned. 
Yet, to this century is generally unhesitatingly ascribed the hon- 
or of discovering it. 

AVe might multiply conjectures, and enumerate many intima- 
tions we possess — some vague and shadowy, others amounting 
almost to certainty — that the discoveries in science which we 
boast of as modern, are only rediscoveries or revivals of quasi 
forgotten knowledge of the ancients ; though, owing to the de- 
struction which time and the vandalism of man have eftected, 
proofs may never be sufficient to place this question beyond 
doubt. 

But, however hotly the scientific knowledge of the ancients 
may be contested, there is one field of learning in which they 
are avowedly unsurpassed, nay, unequaled — this is the wide 
field of literature. 

No modem lyric is more rich in metaphor or passionate in lan- 
guage than the Song of Solomon ; no poet has been more inspired 
by the majesty of the Supreme Beiug, the beauties of the earth, 
and the grandeur of the heavens ; none has more pathetically 
described grief, or more nobly the duties of the righteous man in 
prosperity or adversity, than he who wrote the wonderful book 
of Job. The Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, in their adaptation to 
the wants of our own age, prove that, in the weakness and wis- 
dom of human nature, at least, there is no new thing under the 
sun. 

The poems of Homer, even translated into a less musical and 
perfect language, thrill the heart to hear, and fire the soul of 
many a school-boy with his first admiration for great and noble 
deeds. Less is known of this author than of many an inferior 
genius; of his birthplace and parentage we are alike ignorant; 
only, as we read those glorious pages, the dim vision of a blind 
old man with flowing beard and majestic mien rises before us, 
refuting the modern theory that they are not the inspiration 
of one great genius, but the effusions of a dozen or more min- 
strels. The " Iliad" and " Odyssey," written more than two 
thousand years ago, are said to have been the first epic poems ; 
if so, epic poetry was perfect at its birth, so perfect that all sub- 
sequent epics, taking these two as their models, fall far short of 



HINDOO ETHICS. 63 

them in excellence. "In great things," says Quintilian, "what 
sublimity of expression ; and, in little, what a justness and 
propriety — diffusive and concise, pleasant and grave, admirable 
both for his copiousness and brevity ! " 

The wisdom of Moses, the jurist and historian, is apparent, 
whether he composed or selected his admirable laws ; that which 
often appears trivial to the thoughtless shows wonderful knowl- 
edge of what is injurious or beneficial to individuals and na- 
tions." 

The more we study the literature and theology of that an- 
cient people, the Hindoos, the more we are impressed by the pro- 
found thought and wisdom displayed, the purity of the doctrines 
enunciated, the high moral standard of excellence maintained, as 
also the poetic language and imagery of their writings." 

^2 Take, for instance, the prohibition to eat swine's flesh, which so often causes a 
smile. There is a note in the Talmud stating that the use of this meat is forbidden on 
account of the small insect which infests it. Late events, the fearful ravages of the 
trichinae in Germany, and even in some parts of the United States, have shown the 
wisdom of this law, particularly as enacted for the inhabitants of a warm climate. 

^The general idea entertained of the religious belief and customs of the Hindoos 
is but an erroneous one, thanks to the misinterpretations, perhaps not wholly uninten- 
tional, of the earliest modern writers on the subject ; they, as a rule, record only the 
forms of superstitions which were erected upon the original pure foundation by a cor- 
rupt and ambitious priestcraft, and which mark the decadence of the Hindoo religion 
and people. 

Later writers, the researches of such men as Schlegel, Colebrook, William Jones, 
Strange, and the remarkable work of M. Jacolliot, "La Bible dans I'lnde," give us 
a more just conception of this race, probably the parent of our own. 

The original pure Hindoo religion recognized but one God (as did the sages of 
Greece, in spite of its mythology). In the Yedas, the ancient sacred writings of the 
Hindoos, which the learned declare to have been written more than three thousand 
years before Christ, we find the Deity thus defined : " He who -exists by Himself, 
who is in all, because all is in Him." And, again, with surpassing majesty of thought ; 
" The Ganges flows — it is God ; the ocean roars — it is God ; the wind blows — it is 
He; the cloud that thunders, the lightning that flashes — it is He. As from all 
eternity the universe existed in the spirit of Brahma, so to-day is all that exists his 
image." Can we boast of any grandeur or more beautiful definition of Divine eter- 
nity and omnipresence ? 

To those who imagine the Brahminical religion as instigating its votaries to put 
faith in empty and absurd forms, rather than in worthy actions, let us quote a few 
maxims from the teachings of Manou, the Hindoo philosopher and legislator, who can- 
not have written less than four thousand years ago : 

" Of all things pure, purity in the acquisition of riches is the best. He who preserves 
purity in becoming rich, is really pure, and not he who is purified with earth and 
water." (Will not the just and thoughtful applaud this maxim in the present age of 
corruption ?) — " As the body is purified by water, so is the spirit by truth." — " Sound 



64 i^IFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Five hundred and fifty years before our era, in a land of 
which Cohimbus possessed but a mythical knowledge, and re- 
garded as a realm of barbarous idolatry and wealth, Confucius 
led men to admire and practise virtue for the sake of virtue only, 
and laid the foundation for the high and enlightened moral civili- 
zation which still distinguishes his disciples." 

doctrines and good works purify the soul. The intelligence is purified by knowledge." 
— " Science is useless to a man without judgment, as a mirror to a blind man." — " The 
man who only appreciates the means, according as they conduce to his success, soon 
loses his perception of the just, and of sound doctrines." 

Nor were the psychological ideas of the Uindoos less elevated than their morality 
was pure. Chrishna taught : "The soul is the principle of life, which sovereign wis- 
dom employed to animate bodies ; matter is inert and perishable, the soul thinks and 
acts, and is immortal." The profound philosophy of Greece, the theology of to-day, 
has given us no better or more concise definition. — The elevation of woman, indis- 
pensable to true civilization, was enjoined, her status and mission chivalrously defined, 
in the Vedas : " He who despises woman, despises his mother." — " There is no crime 
more odious than to persecute women, and take advantage of their weakness to de- 
spoil them of their patrimony. When women are honored the divinities are content, but 
where they are not honored all undertakings fail." " Women should be shielded with 
fostering solicitude by their fathers, their brothers, their husbands, and the brothers 
of their husbands, if they hope for prosperity." 

** That moraUty and a wise conception of the same belong especially to no sect, 
time, or people, is evidenced by the fact that the Golden Rule of Christianity, beauti- 
ful and comprehensive, was thus laid down by Confucius five hundred years before 
the birth of Christ : "What you do not like when done to yourself, do not do to 
others." " In the way of the superior man there are four things, to none of which have 
I as yet attained : To serve my father as I would require my son to serve me ; to 
serve my elder brother as I would require my younger brother to serve me ; to serve 
my prince as I would require my minister to serve me ; to set example in behaving 
to a friend as I would require him to behave to me." — (" Doctrine of the Just Mean," 
chapter liii.) The whole of this chapter is replete with wisdom, and is dictated by a 
calm, elevated philosophy, teaching men that virtue consists in doing their duty con- 
scientiously in whatever situation they may be placed. " The superior man," we read, 
" can find himself in no situation in which he is not himself. He does not murmur 
against Heaven, nor grumble against men. Thus it is that the superior man is quiet 
and calm, waiting for the appointments of Heaven, while the mean man walks in dan- 
gerous paths, looking for lucky occurrences." Resignation to Divine will and philo- 
sophic moderation are here forcibly enjohicd. It is to be regretted that the translation 
of Confucius (of which .we here make use) by the Rev. James Legge, is made with 
the avowed object of lessening the fame of the great philosopher, and the credit of his 
followers, by placing in an unfavor.able light the moral doctrines of this most enlight- 
ened Chinese school ; and it is to be feared that sectarian partiality may have allowed 
itself, here and there, to misinterpret sentiments, particularly as these are expressed 
in a language every word of which is susceptible of several interpretations. Never- 
theless, it has been impossible for the translator to conceal the wisdom and sublimity, 
blended w-th sound practical sense, of the teachings inculcated on the Chinese by their 
beloved master. The following, selected at random from the Analects, may serve as an 



ANCIENT LITEEATURE. 65 

Philosophy, the pure teachings of morality, have never since 
flourished as in the days when Socrates taught the doctrine of 
the immortality of the soul, which his disciple Plato developed 
to a still higher spiritualism. The teachings of these and the 
whole school of great philosophers who flourished long ago, con- 
tain all the requisites for making men good and nations pros- 
perous. 

History was well understood by the ancients. Herodotus 
is styled the father of that useful branch of literature, not, we 
may reasonably suppose, because he was the first historian, but 
because his writings are the first treating on that subject only 
which have come down to us complete ; as also, no doubt, on ac- 
count of the inimitable style he employed in his narratives, sim- 
ple, picturesque, and vivid in description, which, as he recited 
them beneath the blue skies of Greece during the excitement of 
the Olympic games, brought the far-off countries through which 
he had traveled, and their inhabitants, before the minds of his 
enthusiastic listeners. If we reflect upon the fact that most of 
the ancient historians found time, amid the toils and occupations 

example of the system : " The superior man in every thing considers righteousness to 
be essential. He performs it according to the rules of propriety. He brings it forth 
in humility. He completes it in sincerity. This is indeed a superior man." — " The 
master said, ' Alas ! there is no one that knows me ! ' Tsze-Kung said : 'What do you 
mean by thus saying that no one knows you ? ' The master replied : ' I do not mur- 
mur against Heaven, I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, my penetra- 
tion rises high. But there is Heaven — that knows me.' " — " I will not be concerned at 
men's not knowing me, I will be concerned at my own want of ability." — " The wise 
man is correctly firm, not firm merely." — " He who exercises government by means 
of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place, and all 
the stars turn toward it." — " Learning without thought is labor lost, thought without 
learning is perilous." — " The master said : ' Yew, shall I teach you what knowledge 
is ? When you know a thing, to hold that you know it, and when you do not know 
a thing, to allow that you do not know it. This is knowledge.' " — " They who know 
the truth are not equal to those who love it, and they who love it, are not equal to 
those who find delight in it." — " Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be estab- 
lished himself, seeks also to establish others ; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks 
also to enlarge others. To be able to judge of others by what is nigh in ourselves, this 
may be called the art of virtue." — " Let the will be set on the path of duty, let per- 
fect virtue be accorded with, let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the poMte arts." 
— " In language it is simply required that it convey its meaning." — " Fine words and 
an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with virtue." 

What exalted doctrines are these ! What wisdom and observation of human 
nature are displayed, and withal what modesty ! " To this I have not attained," says 
the sage of his golden rule; and, again, "A transmitter and not a maker, believing in 
and loving the ancients, I may compare myself to our old P'ang." 



66 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

of the soldier or of the statesman, to leave such valuable records 
to posterity ; that Xenophon, the Hebrew Josephus, Julius Cfesar, 
etc., M'cre distinguished warriors as well as eminent writers, it 
may be conceded that human intellect has not much advanced 
since those times. — " The treasury of remedies for the soul " was 
inscribed over the entrance of the library of Osymandias at 
Thebes three thousand years ago, and who to day will invent a 
more apt and beautiful definition ? We pride ourselves on our 
common-school system, yet find it recorded of Charondas, law- 
giver of Catania, who lived five hundred years before our era : 
*' He made another law, better than these, and neglected by the 
older legislators — for he enacted that all the sons of tlie cit- 
izens should be instructed in letters, the city paying the salaries 
of the teachers. For he held that the poor, not being able to pay 
their teachere from their own property, would be deprived of the 
most valuable discipline." 

The learning of the East was transferred to Europe, especial- 
ly to Spain, by the Arabs. The Caliph Almanzor, early in the 
ninth century of our era, turned his attention from religious 
leammg and warlike exploits, to profane science. He culti- 
vated astronomy with ardor. His successor, Al-Mamoun, by means 
of agents in Constantinople, Syria, and Egypt, caused many of 
the e-reat scientific works of Greece to be collected. These were 
translated by his order, and his subjects enjoined to study them 
with the assurance that the elect of God are they who best im- 
prove their mental faculties, and that teachers of wisdom are the 
light of the world- A subordinate officer donated two hundred 
thousand pieces of gold to found a school in Bagdad, and endowed 
the same with an annual revenue of fifteen thousand dinars. The 
learning of the Greeks and Arabs overspread the East. The Om- 
miades of Spain caught the ardor ; Bagdad and Cordova became 
names synonymous with that of Athens in the days of her glory ; 
great libraries were collected, both public and private. We read 
of a doctor who declined an invitation to reside at the court of 
Bokhara because the transportation of his library alone would re- 
quire four hundred camels. That of the Fatimites numbered one 
hundred thousand manuscripts elegantly translated and beautifully 
bound. Free access to these was given to the students of Cairo, 
while in Spain the Ommiades possessed a library of six hundred 
thousand volumes, forty-four of which were employed in the cata- 



LITEEATUEE AND SCHOOLS OF SPAIN. 67 

logue alone. Cordova, Malaga, Almeria, and Murcia, boasted of 
more than three hundred writers, and nearly one hundred public 
libraries Avere open in Andalusia. The writings of the Grecian 
sages appeared in the Arabic, in which language only, many have 
been preserved to us. The Caliph Al-Mamoun supplied costly in- 
struments for astronomical observation. Twice his mathematicians 
correctly measured a degree of the earth's circle, and determined 
that our globe was twenty-four thousand miles in circumference. 

Such was the learning of the Arabs, a people who enlightened 
Spain for hundreds of years, and were only driven from that 
country immediately before Columbus sailed on his lirst voyage. 
They cannot have failed during all those years to impart some of 
their knowledge to the Spaniards, yet we are informed by histo- 
rians who have the air of believing their assertion, however im- 
probable it may appear when tested by reason, that the learned 
men of Salamanca, convoked to hear Columbus propound his 
" startling theory," treated with ridicule the idea of the earth's 
being spherical. 

What are the proofs we possess that the knowledge of the 
ancients was incomplete? Imperfect globes, defective maps, 
errors in the statements found in ancient MSS., as they have 
reached us — these are cited as evidence of the ignorance of the 
past. It should be remembered that a desire to impress the 
young with an idea of our own importance, has induced many to 
select the defects of a particular age or country as proofs of its 
real status ; the vainglorious author, finding among the ancients 
two works, one containing correct views touching the form of 
our earth, the other declaring it to be flat, would too often con- 
tent himself with holding up the latter as evidence of ancient 
ignorance and modern progress. In what light may we not be 
placed centuries hence? It will only be necessary for some 
curious antiquary to deposit in one of the museums a few flint 
arrow-heads collected from the flelds, or one of the Pembina 
carts " which for the last thirty years have annually borne the 
merchants and merchandise of Prince Kupert's Land to the city 
of St. Paul^ for coming generations to declare that Americans in 
the nineteenth centuiy were ignorant of the use of metals ! 

^ These carts, caravans of which often number as many as a hundred and fifty, 
are manufactured entirely of wood and green hide ; not a particle of metal enters their 
composition ; even the linchpin is of wood. 



68 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Is it not time that a more just, generous, and reasonable spirit 
pervade the civihzation of our age? that, while we g\orj and de- 
light in the great deeds of our race and age, we do not consider 
that great deeds belong to them alone ? that, while eagerly seek- 
ing after knowledge and enacting laws to impart it, we do not 
imagine, and thereby prove gross ignorance, that knowledge is 
our special inheritance, and that the people of the past were less 
favored by their Creator than are we ? 

Tlie Hindoo philosopher Narada, reputed to have lived before 
the Deluge, reasons thus : " Never resort to the argument, ' I do 
not know this, therefore it is false.' "We must study to know, 
know to comprehend, and comprehend to judge." 

This is the proper spirit ; heroes and scholars are not less 
heroic or learned because others as great as they have preceded 
them, nor will it dim the lustre of the present to be just to the 
memory of the past. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE NORTHMEN IN AMERICA. 

While the greater part of Europe was plunged in tlie intel- 
lectual darkness which pervaded the middle ages, while the 
monk in his cloister toiled laboriously during a lifetime to per- 
petuate some one work of saintly or classic lore, and the masses 
were ignorant, superstitious, the slaves of feudal lords and barons 
scarcely less ignorant than themselves, a people flourished in the 




Landing of the Northmen. 



extreme north, with whom enterprise and freedom were neither 
dead nor stagnant, who possessed scientific knowledge and ap- 
plied the same to practical purposes ; a people simple, fearless, 
and energetic, republicans in practice if not in name, with whom 
chieftains were the fathers and protectors of their followers, shar- 



70 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

ing tlieir perils and respecting their rights ; a pagan people in- 
deed, worshipers of Odin and Thor, believers in the joys of 
Walhalla, yet doers of deeds so noble as to be worthy the most 
enlightened Christian: such were the Northmen ; such their sim- 
ple records, which bear every impress of truth, prove them to 
have been. Issuing from an Asiatic hive, they early overran 
Norway and Sweden ; their language, the old Danish or Donsk 
tunga, is now only preserved in Iceland, which they colonized in 
the year 875 ; in 985 they rediscovered and colonized Greenland ; 
the same year the American Continent proper was discovered by 
them, and, during the first years of the eleventh century, they 
made thither frequent voyages, residing, for periods of several 
years, at different times, in what is now called New England. 
To this they were actuated by motives far different from those 
of Columbus: they did not come in search of gold or slaves, but 
to gather by industry the natural products of the land, carrying 
on therewith a flourishing trade between the continent, Green- 
land, Iceland, and Norway. No absurd visions of untold wealth, 
no dreams of Ophir, haunted their brain ; nor did they seek by 
false representations to inveigle others into bearing all the bur- 
dens, while they should reap all the profits, of their expeditions ; 
they were the worthy pioneers of European settlement on our 
shores ; a hardy race, counting on their own labor to develop 
the natural resources of the lands they discovered. 

The voyages made by the Northmen to America are recorded 
in the Sagas or ancient Icelandic records, manuscripts of un- 
doubted authenticity, and of a date far anterior to Columbus. 

The settlement of Greenland by them undoubtedly took 
place ; allusions to it and the colonies formed there are con- 
stantly occurring in Norse or Icelandic records. Letters and 
learning flourished in Iceland when the rest of Europe was in- 
tellectually stagnant ; histories and annals are therefore copious. 
The last bishop was appointed to Greenland in 1406, when the 
colony consisted of two hundred and eighty settlements, all of 
which evidently became extinct ; at what time after communica- 
tion with the parent-country ceased, or from what causes, is not 
known, yet few acquainted with history will doubt their having 
existed. Once in Greenland, this continent was nearer the set- 
tlers than their fatherland : it would have been difiicult for them 
not to discover it. Indeed, throughout Icelandic chronicles and 



GEOGRAPHY OF THE NORTHMEN. 71 

history, there are constant aUiisions to this discovery. In a geo- 
graphical treatise called " Description of'the Whole Earth," writ- 
ten toward the end of the thirteenth century, we read : " England 
and Scotland are one island ; but each is a separate kingdom. 
Ireland is a great island. Iceland is also a great island north of 
Ireland. All these countries are situated in that part of the 
world called Europe. Next to Denmark is lesser Sweden ; then is 
(Eland, then Gottland, then Helsingeland, then Yermeland, and 
the two Kvendlands, which lie north of Biarmeland. From Biarme- 
land stretches desert land toward the north, until Greenland be- 
gins. South of Greenland is Hellidand / next is McurMand^ from 
thence it is not far to Vinland the good, which some thinh goes 
out to Africa." We thus see that the geographical knowledge 
of the Scandinavians, not only with regard to Europe, but also 
touching the position of the new continent, was correct. As to 
their supposition that Yinland extended to Africa, it is an 
avowed hypothesis, and, at any rate, but a small error, compared 
to Columbus's persistent declaration that the island of Cuba was 
Asia. 

Thanks to the eminent labors of Prof. Eafn, the Icelandic 
histories of pre-Columbian discoveries in America have become 
well known to the curious ; while, through the more accessible 
works of Toulmin Smith, Beamish, and last, but not least, De 
Costa, the general reader has been convinced of the fact, which 
is now no longer disputed, that the Northmen were the first 
modern discoverers of this continent. This fact is now so gen- 
erally conceded, and stands upon so sure a foundation of almost 
contemporaneous documents, that argument is happily not 
needed to establish the justness of the Northmen's claims ; it 
will only be necessary for us to give a brief synopsis of these 
early histories, and note here and there the contrast existing be- 
tween the spirit which animated the semi-pagan people on the 
one hand, and the bigoted devotee Columbus on the other, to 
prosecute their discoveries ; this contrast redounds by no means 
to the credit of the latter. 

We shall not here dwell upon the intellectual and commercial 
activity which early characterized the Northmen, save to ob- 
serve that they were sufficient to render the discovery of Amer- 
ica by them a natural consequence of their ever-extending voy- 
ages and explorations. Between Norway and Iceland, Iceland 
6 



72 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

and Ireland, there were communication and traffic ; the people of 
the latter island were further advanced in civilization than their 
neighbors the Britons. Tacitus tells us of Ireland that " the ap- 
proaches and harbors are better known " (tlian those of Britain), 
" by reason of commerce and the merchants." The Korthmen, 
we have seen, possessed the magnetic compass ; they were particu- 
larly remarkable as a seafaring people. When they had reached 
Iceland, the distance to Greenland was comparatively trifling ; a 
passage thence to America, a natural sequence of their westward 
course. In recording their voyages, we shall not attempt labo- 
riously to explain the identity of each place described by the 
Northmen — this has already been done by Rafn ; we shall only 
quote the result of his labors. Slight possible flaws in his iden- 
tification have been pointed out by De Costa, but the main fact, 
that the lands discovered were those portions of America extend- 
ing from Labrador to Florida, is admitted by all who have 
studied the records, who agree that they describe with wonder- 
ful accuracy the aspect and products of that region, and that such 
accuracy, it is scarcely needful to say, cannot be the result of 
chance, nor the descriptions have been written for other lands. 
Circumstantial evidence, scientific proof, of this are exhausted by 
Kafn in his " Antiquitates Americanae," to which comprehen- 
sive work we refer the reader, should he still be disposed to 
doubt that the following narratives are proofs of pre-Columbian 
exploration and settlement in America. 

Eric the Red had, in the spring of 98G a. d., emigrated to 
Greenland from Iceland, and there formed a settlement. One 
of his followers was Ileriulf, whose son Biarne was absent on 
a voyage to Norway at the time of his departure. Biarne had 
always made a point of spending the winter Avith his father ; on 
his return to Iceland, he determined that this winter should 
form no exception to his rule, and that he would follow Ileriulf 
to the land whither he had traveled, a somewhat arduous under- 
taking, as he possessed no chart or directions save that the new 
settlement lay to the westward. " He was," we read, " a prom- 
ising young man. In his earliest youth he had a desire to go 
abroad, and he soon gathered property and reputation, and was 
by turns a year abroad and a year with his fiither. Biarne was 
soon in possession of a mercliant-ship of his own." "When 
Biarne returned with his ship from his Norway expedition, he 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY BIARNE. Y3 

would not unload, but said to bis crew, " I will steer for Green- 
land if ye will go witb me." Tbey one and all agreed to go 
with bim. Biarne said, " Our voyage will be tbougbt foolish, 
as none of us have been on the Greenland sea before." 

They set sail and encountered continuous northerly winds 
which drove them southward ; the fog became so dense as to con- 
ceal the surrounding ocean. When the weather at length cleared 
tliey found themselves in sight of a land plentifully wooded and 
gently undulated ; this, however, Biarne concluded could not be 
Greenland, as it varied greatly from the descriptions of that coun- 
try which had been given him. He therefore left it to the lar- 
board, and, sailing two days, saw another land, flat and woody ; 
the wind was now southwest ; they passed a third land, moun- 
tainous and covered with glaciers ; this they coasted suflSciently to 
find that it was an island, but did not go ashore. They now stood 
out to sea, a strong southwest wind still prevailing, which brought 
them, after four days' swift sailing, to Greenland, and to the very 
cape where Heriulf had settled. This was the first discovery of 
America by the Northmen. Like the discovery of the West 
Indies by the pilot Sanchez, it was the result of chance, but the 
chance was itself the result of hardy enterprise. Biarne started 
from Iceland in search of Greenland, of which he only knew by 
hearsay ; driven south, he discovered instead America. The nar- 
rative which records his voyage describes accurately the points 
upon which he touched, which, it has been agreed, were : first. 
Cape Cod ; second, l^ova Scotia ; third, ISTewfoundland, Biarne's 
impatience to rejoin his father before the winter set in, caused 
him to neglect any exploration of the lands he thus accidentally 
visited. For this he was censured by his countrymen ; they could 
hardly understand his refraining from becoming acquainted with 
the new country and its products. The spirit of discovery was 
then rife with the Northmen. 

Leif, son of Eric the Eed, bought Biarne's ship» equipped 
and manned it with a crew of thirty men ; one of these was 
Tyrker, " a man from the south," probably a German, who had 
long been a retainer of Eric, and was much attached to Leif 
from his boyhood. When all was ready, the latter besought 
his father to become the commander of the expedition. Eric at 
first declared himself to be too old for the undertaking, but 
yielded finally to the solicitations of his son. As he rode down 



74 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

to the ship his horse stumbled and threw him, disabling his foot. 
" It is destined," said he, " that I should never discover more 
lands than this Greenland on which we live." lie remained 
therefore at home, and Leif commanded the ship. The above 
incident, simply related, and Biarne's devotion and eagerness to 
rejoin his father, give us a pleasant knowledge of the love and 
respect which existed among the Northmen between father and 
son, even when the latter had attained to manhood. Leif pur- 
chasing his ship from Biarne (the avowed though accidental dis- 
coverer of the lands), organizing, and defraying the expenses of 
the expedition, then modestly desiring that his father, not him- 
self, should be its chief, contrasts strongly with Columbus, who 
entirely concealed the source whence he derived his information, 
resorted to fraud and false promises to obtain his equipment, 
and finally insisted, as only the little-minded can insist, upon 
being vested with sounding titles and surrounded by puerile ob- 
sequiousness. 

Leif set sail in the year 1000 a. d. to revisit the lands seen 
by Biarne ; he first reached the island which the latter had coast- 
ed, lie said : " It shall not be said of us, as it was of Biarne, that 
we did not come upon the land ; for I will give the country a 
name, and call it Helluland " {Jiella, a stone). They went on 
board again, and put to sea, and reached another land. Sailing 
toward it, they put out a boat, and landed. " This country was 
flat and woody, surrounded by cliffs, and a low shore of white 
sand; they called it Markland {Woodland).''^ Thence they 
sailed two days, with a northeast wind, and came to an island 
which lay eastward of the main-land, and entered a channel, 
which separated the island from the main-land promontory. 
Sailing westward, they came to a river, which flowed from a lake 
into the sea ; they entered the river, and thence the lake, in 
which they cast anchor. This was evidently Mount-Hope Bay, 
which they reached by Pocasset River and Seaconnet Passage. 
On the shores they constructed huts, or booths, for temporary 
shelter, but, upon determining to spend the Avinter there, they 
enlarged their quarters and built houses. The place was called 
Leifsbiider {Leifs Booths). 

" The country appeared to them of so good a kind that it 
would not be necessary to gather fodder for the cattle for winter. 
There was no frost in winter, and the grass was not much with- 



DAY AND NIGHT.— GRAPES. 75 

ered. Day and night were more equal than in Greenland and 
Iceland ; for, on the shortest day, the sun was in the sky be- 
tween Eyktarstadr and the Dagmalstadr." '® 

When the houses were completed, Leif divided his men into 
two companies, one of which kept watch at the settlement while 
the other explored the surrounding country. He shared alike 
with his men, accompanying them in their explorations one day, 
and the next remaining at home. He enjoined them not to sepa- 
rate, nor to extend their travels too far. He is described in the 
narrative as "a stout, strongman, and of manly appearance ; and 
was besides a prudent and sagacious man in all respects." 

One day the exploring party returned, and it was found that 
Tyrker, the German, was missing ; Leif, much concerned, immedi- 
ately started with twelve men in search of him, but had not pro- 
ceeded far when they met him. " Leif soon perceived that his 
foster-father was quite merry. Tyrker had a high forehead, 
sharp eyes, with a small face, and was little in size, and ugly ; 
but was very dexterous in all feats. Leif said to him : ' Why 
art thou so late, my foster-father ; and why didst thou leave thy 
comrades ? ' He spoke at first long in German, rolled his eyes 
and knit his brows ; but they could not make out what he was 
saying. After a while, and some delay, he said in Norse : ' I 
did not go much farther than they, and yet I have something 
altogether new to relate, for I have found vines and grapes.' 
' Is that true, my foster-father ? ' said Leif. ' Yes, true it is,' 
answered he, ' for I was born where there was no scarcity of 
grapes.' " Tyrker, far away from his fatherland, which he had 
probably not seen since childhood, was evidently moved to strange 

^^ Rafn thus explains this passage : " In Vineland the sun rose, on the shortest day, 
at the beginning of Dagmal, and set at the close of Uykt. As the ancient Northmen 
divided the horizon into eight grand compartments, called dtlir, so they also made a 
corresponding octuple division of the solar day into aliquot parts, called eyktir, each 
of which was consequently equal to three hours. Stadr signifies limit, or boundary, 
and, when used in reference to the rising and setting of the sun, it denotes, in the 
morning, the commencement, and, in the evening, the close of the Eykt. Dagmalstadr 
is, therefore, half-past seven o'clock a. m., and Eyktarstadr half-past four p. m. The 
sun therefore rose at half-past seven o'clock and set at half-past four on the shortest 
day, which was consequently nine hours long. This circumstance gives for the lati- 
tude of the place 41° 24' 10". The latitude of Seaconnet Point and of the south 
point of Conannicut Island is 41° 26', and of Point Judith 41° 23', which three head- 
lands bound the entrances to what is now called Mount-Hope Bay, and which was doubt- 
less called Hopsvatn by the ancient Northmen." 



76 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



emotion at the sight of vines such as grew around the home of 
his earliest recollections. This episode and the simplicity with 
which it is narrated, is, as Mr. De Costa justly claims, " a stroke 
of genuine nature, something that a writer, framing the account 
of a fictitious voyage, would not dream of." It is well known 
that grapes formerly grew wild in great abundance in the vicin- 
ity of Mount-Hope Bay, hence the names Martha's Vinei/ard and 
Vineyard Sound. 

Henceforth, the occupation of Leif and his companions was 
twofold— felling and hewing timber, and gathering grapes. Leif 
called the land Vineland. In the spring they sailed with a fair 




Gbapeb discovered bt the Koethmen. 



wind for Greenland. When, in sight of land, Leif steered to the 
windward, his men inquired the reason ; he replied, " I mind my 
helm, and tend to other things too. Do you see any thing ? " 
They said they saw nothing remarkable. Leif replied that he 
saw something which was either a ship or a rock ; on exami- 
nation, the crew pronounced it a rock. " But he saw so much 
better than they, that he discovered men upon the rock. ' Now 
I will,' said Leif, * that we hold to the wind, that we may come 
up to them if they should need help ; and, if they should not be 
friendly inclined, it is in our power to do as we please, and not 



THORER SAVED FROM SHIPWRECK. . Y7 

theirs.' Now they sailed under the rock, lowered their sails, 
cast anchor, and put out another small boat which they had with 
them. Then Tyrker asked who their leader was. He said his 
name was Thorer, and that he was a Northman. ' But what is 
your name ? ' said he. Leif told his name. ' Are you the son 
of Eric the Red of Brattahlid ? ' he asked. Leif said that was 
so. ' Now I will,' said Leif, ' take ye and all on board my ship, 
and as much of the goods as the ship will store.' They took up 
this offer, and sailed away to Ericfiord with the cargo, and 
thence to Brattahlid, where they unloaded the ship. Leif offered 
Thorer and his wife Gudrid, and three others, lodging with him- 
self, and offered lodging elsewhere for the rest of the people, 
both of Thorer's crew and his own. Leif took fifteen men from 
the rock, and thereafter was called Leif the Fortunate. After 
that time, Leif advanced greatly in wealth and consideration. 
That winter sickness came among Thorer's people, and he him- 
self and a great part of his crew died." 

Though Leif had explored a portion of the country, and 
could not, therefore, share the reproach which Biarne had in- 
curred, there was an evident opinion among his countrymen that 
further exploration should be made. 

Leif had been baptized in Norway at the suggestion and so- 
licitation of King Olaf, about the year 999. In the . following 
year he first introduced Christianity into Greenland. Old Eric the 
Red does not, however, seem to have taken kindly to the new 
creed, for we find it recorded of him that, when the people called 
his son Leif the Fortunate, he said ; " These two things went 
against one another; that Leif had saved the crew of the ship, 
and delivered them from death, and that he had brought that 
bad man into Greenland ; that is what he called the priest." "We 
read, however, that the old man was, after much urging, baptized. 
He died soon after Leif's return from Yinland (1001) ; the latter, 
therefore, assumed his father's place at the head of the Brattah- 
lid settlement, and it was his brother Thorwald who, in the 
spring q^ 1002, sailed to prosecute his discoveries. For this pur- 
pose he lent Thorwald his vessel and gave him ample instructions. 
It is likely that the Northmen made observations and charts 
during their voyages, which were sure guides to those who fol- 
lowed them ; their knowledge of the compass would enable them 
to do this, and facts go far to prove that they availed themselves 



78 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

of the ability. Leif first reached Newfoundland, the most north- 
erly and last point seen by Biarne. lie does not touch upon 
other lands, as he most likely would have done had his instruc- 
tions been vague (as Biarne himself did when sailing for Green- 
land with nothing but description to guide him). lie next visited 
Marliand (Nova Scotia), which was the second seen by Biarne, 
and lastly Vinland, which was in the vicinity of the first point 
of land Biarne's expedition had sighted. These were evidently 
the points he made for, and he found them without difliculty. 
Now Thorwald, sailing by Leif's chart, makes immediately for 
Leifsbiidir, touching at no intervening points (at least no men- 
tion is made of his having done so) till he reached the bay. 
Here he staid two winters, making Leifsbiidir headquarters, and 
sending thence exploj'ing parties. One of these went south in 
the ship's boat, how far we are not able to determine, as the de- 
tails of Thorwald's expedition are more meagre than those of the 
other narratives, owing no doubt to the death of the chief before 
returning to Greenland. In the year 100-i Thorwald set out in 
his large ship to explore northward, encountering bad weather 
when opposite a cape (evidently the extreme point of Cape 
Cod) ; and, the keel of his ship being damaged, he said to his 
companions, " We will stick up the keel here upon the ness,^'' and 
call the place Kialarness" (Keel Promontory), " which they did." 
The ship being repaired, they sailed east to a point of land cov- 
ered with trees, said to be Point Alderton, below Boston. When 
they had landed, Thorwald said : " Here it is beautiful ; and I 
would willingly set up my abode here." 

Soon after they were attacked by hostile Skra^llings (natives). 
" Then," said Thorwald, " we shall put up our war-screens along 
the gunwales, and defend ourselves as well as we can, but not 
use our weapons much against them." 

" They did so accordingly. The Skraellings shot at thetn for 
a while, and then fled away as fast as they could. Then Thor- 
wald asked if any one was wounded, and they said nobody was 
hurt. He said : * I have a wound under the arm. An arrow 
flew between the gunwale and the shield, under my arm ; here 
is the arrow, and it will be my death-wound. Now I advise you 
to make ready with all speed to return ; but ye shall carry me to 
the point which I thought would be so convenient for a dwelling. 

*' The Northmen called all points of land, or promontories, ness. % 



THE YULE-FEAST. 79 

It may be that it was true what I said, that here would I dwell 
for a while. Ye shall bury me there, and place a cross at my 
head and one at my feet, and call the place Crossness.' " 

Having obeyed these last instructions, his companions re- 
turned to Leifsbiidir, spent the winter in loading their ships, and 
returned in the spring, " bringing heavy tidings to Leif." 

Thorstein Ericson hearing the fate of his brother Thorwald, 
determined to bring his body from Yinland to Greenland. He 
equipped the same vessel and set sail, accompanied by his wife 
Gudrid, but his expedition was unfortunate, and he returned to 
Greenland without reaching any of the lands his brothers had 
visited. He died that winter. 

During the next summer (1006) two ships came from Iceland, 
one of which was commanded by Thorfinn Karlsefne, a man of 
wealth and illustrious birth, his ancestors being noble Danes, 
Norwegians, Swedes, Irish, and Scotch, some of them kings or 
of royal descent ; the other was commanded by Biarne Griinolf- 
son and Thorhall Gamlason. Each ship had a crew of forty men. 

" Leif and other people rode down to the ships, and friendly 
exchanges were made. The captains requested Leif to take 
whatever he desired of their goods. Leif, in return, entertained 
them w^ell, and invited the principal men of both ships to spend 
the winter with him at Brattahlid. The merchants accepted his 
invitation with thanks. Afterward their goods were moved to 
Brattahlid, where they had every entertainment they could de- 
sire ; therefore their winter-quarters pleased them much. When 
the Yule-feast began, Leif was silent and more depressed than 
usual. Then Karlsefne said to Leif: ' Are you sick, friend Leif? 
you do not seem to be in your usual spirits. You have enter- 
tained us liberally, for which we desire to render you all the ser- 
vice, in our power. Tell me what it is that ails you.' 'You 
have received what I have been able to offer you ' said Leif, ' in 
the kindest manner, and there is no idea in my mind that you 
have been wanting in courtesy ; but I am afraid lest, when you 
go away, it may be said that you never saw a Yule-feast so 
meanly celebrated as that which draws near, at which you will 
be entertained by Leif of Brattahlid.' ' That shall never be the 
case, friend,' said Karlsefne; ' we have ample stores in the ships ; 
take of these what you wish, and make a feast as splendid as you 
please.' Leif accepted the offer, and the Yule began ; and so 



80 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

well were Lcif s plans made, that all were surprised that such a 
rich feast could be prepared in so poor a country. After the 
Yule-feast, Karlsefne began to treat with Leif as to the marriage 
of Gudrid .... and in the end it turned out that Karlsefne mar- 
ried Gudrid (widow of Thorstcin Ericson), and their wedding 
was held at Brattahlid, this same winter. 

" The conversation often turned, at Brattahlid, on the discov- 
ery of Yinland the Good, and they said that a voyage there had 
great hope of gain. And, after this, Karlsefne and 8norre made 
ready for going on a voyage there the following spring. Biarne 
and Thorhall Gamlason, before mentioned, joined him with a 
ship" (1007). 

The first land this joint expedition reached after the isle of 
Disco, which they called Blarney, or Bear Island, was evidently 
some part of Labrador. They found on it great stones and many 
foxes ; they named it Ilelluland it Mikla, or Stony-land the Great, 
to distinguish it from Kewfoundland, which Leif had first named 
Helluland, and which they now called Helluland it Litla (the 
Little). The description in the ancient narrative is said to an- 
swer perfectly to the aspect of that region. Sailing southward 
a day and a night, they came to a land covered with woods, in 
which were many wild animals. This was Nova Scotia, which 
in 1501 will be called Tierra Verde, or Greenland, on account 
of these same forests, by Don Gaspar de Corte Real, and which 
Leif had already appropriately named Markland ("Woodland). 
They then came to an island supposed to be Sable Island, where 
they killed a bear. Thence they reached Kialarness (Cape Cod), 
and saw the keel which Thorwald had there set up. The shores 
of this cape, long and barren wastes of sand, stretching along the 
coast to an apparently endless extent, they named Furdus- 
strandir ("Wonderful Shores), " because they seemed so long pass- 
ing by." The coast then became indented with coves, and they 
ran the ship into a bay, whither they directed their course. 
"King Olaf had given Leif two Scots, a man named Haki, and 
a woman named Hekia ; they were swifter of foot than wild 
animals. These were in Karlsefne's ship. And when they liad 
passed beyond Wonder-strand, they put these Scots ashore, and 
told them to run over the land to the southwest, three days, and 
discover the nature of the land, and then return. They had a 
kind of garment that they called Mafal, that was so made that a 



COKK— BUZZARD'S BAY. 81 

liat was on top, and it was open at the sides, and no arms ; 
fastened between the legs with a button and strap, otherwise 
they were naked. When they returned, one had in his hand a 
bunch of grapes, and the other an ear of corn. They went on 
board, and afterward the course was obstructed by another bay. 
Beyond this bay was an Island, on each side of which was a 
rapid current, that they called the Isle of Currents (Straumey)." 

This island was probably Nantucket, which was evidently at 
one time united with Martha's Yineyard. The name they gave 
it shows that they possessed knowledge of the Gulf Stream. On 
this island, we read : " There was so great a number of cider- 
ducks there, that they could hardly step without treading on 
their eggs. They called this place ' Stream Bay.' This was 
Buzzard's Bay ; the eggs were probably those of the gull which 
still frequents that part in great numbers. Here we are told 
they brought their ship to anchor, and prepared to stay. They 
had with them all kinds of cattle. The situation of the place 
was pleasant, but they did not care for any thing except to ex- 
plore the land. Here they wintered, without sufficient food. 
The next summer (1008), failing to catch fish, they began to 
want food. Then Thorhall the hunter disappeared. . . . 

" They found Thorhall, whom they sought three days, on 
the top of a rock, where he lay breathing, blowing through his 
nose and mouth, and muttering. They asked why he had gone 
there. He replied that this was nothing that concerned them. 
They said that he should go home with them, which he did. 
Afterward a whale was cast ashore in that place, and they as- 
sembled and cut it up, not knowing what kind of a whale it was, 
they boiled it with water, and devoured it, and were taken 
sick ; then Thorhall said : ' JSTow you see that Thor is more 
prompt to give aid than your Christ. This was cast ashore as a 
reward for the hymn which I composed to my patron Thor, who 
rarely forsakes me.' When they knew this, they cast all the re- 
mains of the whale into the sea, and commended their affairs to 
God. After which the air became milder, and opportunities 
were given for fishing, and from that time there was an abun- 
dance of food, and there were beasts on the land, eggs in the 
island, and fish in the sea." 

It is somewhat amusing to find these newly-converted and 
evidently sincere Christians, still believing in the efficacy of 



82 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

prayer to their ancient gods ; with them it seems to have been a 
matter of supremacy of one god over the other. Thorhall was 
evidently a most disagreeable personage, not altogether mide- 
serving of his fate. We read next : " They say that Thorhall 
desired to go northward around ' Wonder-strand,' to explore 
Vinhand, but Karlsefne wished to go along the south shore. 

" Then Thorhall prepared himself at the island, but did not 
have more than nine men in his M'hole company, and all the 
others went in the company of Karlsefne. When Thorhall was 
carrying water to his ship, he sang this verse : 

' People said wlien hither I 
Came, that I the hest 
Drink would have, but the land 
It justly becomes me to bhime — 
T, a warrior, am now obliged 
To bear the pail ; 
"Wine touches not my lips, 
But I bow down to the spring.' 

" And when they had made ready and were about to sail, 
Thorhall sang : 

' Let us return 

Thither where our countrymen rejoice, 
Let the ship try 
The smooth ways of the sea ; 
"While the strong heroes 
Live on Wonder-strand, 
And there boil whales, 
Which is an honor to the land.' 

"Afterward he sailed north, to go round Wonder-strand 
and Kialarness, but, when he wished to sail westward, they were 
met by a storm from the west and driven to Ireland, where they 
were beaten, and made slaves. 

" And, as merchants reported, there Thorhall died." 

We see, by this incidental allusion to merchants and their 
bringing news from Ireland, that the trade between the latter 
and Iceland was then flourishing. 

Karlsefne, with Biarne, Snorre, and the rest, sailed south till 
they reached the same river, flowing from a lake into the sea, 
which Leif had entered, and erected his booths. 

They evidently passed to the west of these, toward Mount 
Hope. They named the place Hop (to form a bay, to recede). 



MOUNT HOPE. 



83 



It is curious that the present name of the bay and hill is Mount 
Hope, derived from the Indian word Haup. May not the latter 
have been a vestige, remaining with the natives, of the language 
of the Northmen ? There is certainly no doubt that the descrip- 
tions in the narratives, both of Leif and Karlsefne, of the lake 
and approaches to it accurately correspond to Mount- Hope Bay ; 
indeed, this is a point no longer disputed. 

In this region they found corn growing on the low land, 
vines on the higher ; the rivers were full of fish. They ])ut their 
cattle out to pasture, and rested. 

" When spring came (1009) they saw, one morning early, that 




FlKST EUKOPEANS TRADING WITH INDIANS. 



a number of canoes rowed from the south round the ness / so 
many as if the sea were sown with coal ; poles were also swung 
on each boat. Karlsefne and his people then raised up the shield, 
and when they came together they began to trade, and those peo- 
ple would rather have red cloth ; for this they offered skins and 
real furs. They would also buy swords and spears, but this 
Karlsefne and Snorre forbade. For a whole fur-skin, the Skrsel- 
lings took a piece of red cloth a span long, and bound it round 
their heads. Thus their traffic went on for a time ; then the 
cloth began to be scarce with Karlsefne and his people, and they 



84 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

cut it into small pieces -whieli were not wider than a iinger's 
breadtli, and yet the Sknellings gave as much as before, and more." 

A bull, belonging to Xarlset'ne, happening to roar, disturbed 
this peaceful trading with the Indians, who, frightened at the 
sound, fled in dismay ; they soon returned making hostile demon- 
strations; hard pressed by superior numbers, the Xorthmcn fled 
to the rocks, whore they could make a stand. Freydis, a daugh- 
ter of Eric, who with her husband accompanied the expedition, 
indignant at the flight of her countrymen, defled the hidinns, so 
that, awe-struck at her conduct, and moreover routed by the 
Northmen in the rocks, they fled to the woods. " Karlsefne and 
his people now thought that they saw, although the land had 
many good qualities, that they still would always be exposed 
there to the fear of attacks from the original dwellers. They 
decided, therefore, to go away, and return to their own land." 

They therefore sailed to the Straumey, whence Karlsefne, 
with one of the ships, sailed in quest of the malcontent Thor- 
hall, the other ship and crew remaining behind. Eounding 
Kialanicss, Karlsefne proceeded northwest ; the land lay to his 
left ; this was coverecl with thick forests, and mountains which 
were supposed by them to form one range .with those of Hop. 

Karlsefne returned to Straumfiord after a fruitless search, and 
there spent the winter of 1010. In the spring of that year they 
all sailed for Greenland. At Markland they saw five natives. 
They captured two boys whom they instructed in the Norse 
tongue, and the Christian religion. Karlsefne reached Green- 
land safely with a rich cargo of timber, grapes, and furs. 

Biarne Grimolfson, however, was driven out into the ocean, 
and his ship was attacked by worms, which riddled it complete- 
ly. The heroic magnanimity of Biarne in this emergency, as 
well as the fortitude displayed (with one exception) by the un- 
fortunates doomed to inevitable death, are best related in the 
simple language of the Saga : 

'' Biarne Grimolfson was driven with his ship into the Irish 
Ocean, and they came into a worm sea, and soon the ship began 
to sink under them. They had a boat which was smeared with 
sea-oil — for the worms do not attack that. They went into the 
boat, and then saw that it could not hold them all ; then said Bi- 
arne : ' As the boat will not hold more than half of our men, it is 
mv counsel that lots should be drawn for those to go in the boat, 



BIARNE GIVES HIS LIFE. 



85 



for it shall not be according to rank.' This thej all thought so 
generous an oflfer that no one would oppose it. They then did 
so, that lots were drawn ; and it fell to Biarne to go in the boat, 
and half of the men with him, for the boat had not room for 
more. But when they had gotten into the boat, an Icelandic 
man that was in the ship, and had come with Biarne from Ice- 
land, said, ' Dost thou mean, Biarne, to leave me here ? ' Biarne 
said, ' So it seems.' Then said the other, ' Very different was the 
promise to my father, when I went with thee from Iceland, than 
thus to leave me, for thou saidst that we should both share the 
same fate.' Biarne said : ' It shall not be thus ; go down into the 
boat, and I will go up into the ship, since I see that thou art so 




anxious to live.' Then Biarne went up into the ship, and this 
man down into the boat, and after that they went on their voy- 
age until they came to Dublin, in Ireland, and there told these 
things; but it is most people's belief that Biarne and his com- 
panions were lost in the worm sea, for nothing was heard of them 
after that time." 

Other voyages were made, and it is evident that communica- 
tion was kept up with Vinland till intercourse between Green- 
land and Europe ceased, and the rigor of the climate or other 



8B LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

causes had destroyed the vigorous Norse colony in the former. 
As late as the year 1347 it is recorded in the " Annals of Iceland," 
a sort of contemporaneous chronicle, that among the wrecks of 
the year was " a Greenland ship which had been on a voyage to 
Markland." We might also enlarge upon the tradition, M'hich 
very possibly has truth for its foundation, that tlie Irish, as early 
as the ]!s^orthmen, visited and colonized the southern portion of 
North America, and had tliere formed an extensive settlement. 
The land south of Vinland was called by the Northmen, Iluit- 
ramannaland (White-man's Land), or Great Ireland. The Irish, 
to whose maritime and commercial activity we have already al- 
luded, may very possibly have extended their voyages so lar ; 
but this cannot yet be stated as a fact, and still remains a mere 
tradition. Not so the voyages of the Northmen to our conti- . 
nent ; these have become a certainty. They also made extensive 
explorations in the arctic regions, but of these we shall not here 
speak, contenting ourselves with having recorded their more 
important explorations along the coast of North America. 

And, having read the narratives of these Norse voyagers, 
how can we sufficiently admire their conduct and motives, es- 
pecially when contrasted with those of the much-lauded Colum- 
bus ? Thorwald asks " whether any one is hurt," before even al- 
luding to his own mortal wound ; and when he does so it is with 
manly fortitude and resignation. Biarne Grimolfson gives his 
life for a cowardly follower, and accepts certain death, that he 
may be true to a promise given. Can one such act be found in 
the far mure recent life of Columbus, whose continual /becomes 
monotonous, who ignores all save himself, whines and whimpers 
at the slightest danger, real or apparent? Leif Ericson himself 
starts in search of a missing follower, and, finding him, greets 
him kindly. When two of Columbus's luckless crew lose them- 
selves, they are by his orders cast in irons and put on short ra- 
tions, to expiate their heinous offense. Attacked by hostile In- 
dians, Thorwald says, " We shall defend ourselves as well as we 
can, but not use our weapons much against them." Greeted by 
peaceable Indians, Columbus orders the ship's gun fired in their 
midst, in order " to abate their pride and make them not con- 
temn the Christians." '* 

All the Norse leaders, Biarne Ileriulfson, Leif and Thorwald 

** Fernando, " Historia del Amirante/'chapter xci'a. 



HEROIC CHARACTER OF THE NORTHMEN. 87 

Ericson, Karlsefne, Biarne Grimolfson, worked for the common 
good, and were as mucli loved and respected by their followers 
as Columbus was hated and despised by his. 

We have here given but a short sketch of the ISTorthmen and 
their achievements in America, because the field has already 
been thoroughly explored. The evidence, climatic, geographical, 
and astronomical, that the Sagas describe the Eastern coast of 
North America, has been unanswerably set forth by Rafn, and 
the matter placed beyond cavil. Historians of Columbus, how- 
ever, either utterly ignore, or slightingly allude to, the achieve- 
ments of these predecessors of their hero, on whom they have 
determined to heap all the honors belonging to various men and 
various ages. To this the candid and impartial will scarcely 
consent. If the discovery by Columbus in 1492 of the islands 
of San Salvador and San Domingo was the discovery of the Con- 
tinent of America, then the discovery and permanent coloniza- 
tion of Iceland and Greenland, six hundred years before by the 
Scandinavians, was also the discovery of that continent ; the por- 
tion of main-land coasted by Columbus was avowedly but small, 
and he professed to be in Asia. The Northmen, on the con- 
trary, visited all the eastern coast of America, from the extreme 
North to Florida, formed settlements, and for centuries carried 
on commerce with the products of what are now the most civil- 
ized, populous, and enlightened portions of America ; and the 
American might well feel relief and pride at the knowledge 
that the first of his race to touch upon his native shores were 
the heroic Norsemen : 

"Kings of the main, their leaders brave, 
Their barks the dragons of the wave." 



CHAPTEK lY. 

PKmCE MADOC AND THE ZENI BK0THEK8. 

In treating of pre-Columbian visits to America, it would be 
unjust wholly to omit mentioning the voyages said to have been 
made to that continent by Prince Madoc, in the twelfth and the 
Zeni brothers in the fourteenth century. Insufficiency of evidence 
prevents these expeditions from taking a prominent place in the 
domain of history, yet the traditionary accounts of them, ignored 
by too partial historians of Columbus, go far to prove that the 
voyage of the latter was no such startling undertaking as has 
been represented ; that the realms which lay beyond the Atlantic 
were not shrouded in all the mystery of the unknown ; nor the 
ocean itself regarded with that superstitious terror recorded by 
his eulogists, in order to enhance his courage and superiority 
over his contemporaries. 

Cambrian chroniclers speak confidently of a voyage made by 
Prince Madoc in the year 1170, to a Western continent. This 
land is said to have been fertile, and peopled by a race difiering 
in features and complexion from those of Europe. Subsequent 
writers contend that this new land was no other than the Conti- 
nent of America.'* 

What may be the amount of credit justly due to these state- 
ments is not now easy to determine ; yet it is evident that the 
earlier of these accounts were not written for the purpose of de- 
frauding Columbus. Hakluyt, Humboldt, and others, have 
given this subject more or less consideration. While it is still 
shrouded in mystery, there can be little doubt that Madoc made 
a voyage to distant lands. His name and family were not so ob- 
scure as to admit of his disappearing from the scenes of turmoil 

'^ The similarity between the name of Madoc and that of the Modoc tribe of In- 
dians has been commented upon by some, who ascribe a Welsh descent to the latter. 



PRINCE MADOO. 89 

and blood with which Wales was afflicted after the death of his 
father, without attracting the notice of historians of his time, 
nor is it probable that he remained concealed in his native land, 
or that he fixed his abode in any portion of the earth with which 
the isle of -Britain had intercourse. 

Prince Madoc is the hero of one of Southey's ablest poems. 
He prefaces it with the following history, which contains all that 
is known at the present day of the Welsh navigator : 

" The historical facts on which this poem is founded may be 
related in a few words. On the death of Owen Gwyneth, King 
of North Wales, a. d. 1169, his children disputed the succession. 
Yorworth, the elder, was set aside without a struggle, as being 
incapacitated by a blemish in his face. Hoel, though illegiti- 
mate, and born of an Irish mother, obtained possession of the 
throne for a while, till he was defeated and slain by David, the 
eldest son of the late king by a second wife. The conqueror, 
who then succeeded without opposition, slew Yorworth, im- 
prisoned Rodri, and hunted others of' his brethren into exile. 
But Madoc, meantime, abandoned his barbarous country, and 
sailed away to the west, in search of some better resting-place. 
The land which he discovered pleased him ; he left there part of 
his people, and went back to Wales for a fresh supply of adven- 
turers, with whom he again set sail, and was heard of no more. 
Strong evidence has been adduced that he reached America." 

The poem of Madoc, Mr. Southey informs us, drew upon him 
the indignation of an American pamphleteer, who denounced 
him, as having " meditated a most serious injury against the 
reputation of the New World, by attributing its discovery and 
colonization to a little vagabond Welsh prince — this being a 
most insidious attempt against the honor of America and the 
reputation of Columbus." 

To such lengths of blind partiality will men be carried, who 
care less for the truth of history than for the fame of its crea- 
tures. Early historians were not thus scornful of Madoc and his 
voyages ; witness Purchas, who writes : " I will not say but that 
in these times of old, some ships might come some time by casu- 
alty into these parts, but rather forced by weather than directed 
by skill ; and thus it is likely that some parts of America have 
been peopled .... The most probable history (account) in this 
kind is (in my mind), that of Madoc ap Owen Gwyneth, who, by 



90 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

reason of civil contentions, left bis country of "Wales, seeking 
adventures by sea ; and, leaving tbe coast of Ireland nortb, came 
to a land unknown, wbere be saw many strange tbings." *" 

NicoLo and Antonio Zeno flourisbed in Venice, during tbe 
latter part of tbe fourteentb century (1380). Tbey were active 
members of a family of warriors, navigators, statesmen, diplo- 
mats, and bistorians ; few families bave a prouder record tban 
tbe Zeni ; Nicolo and Antonio added to its fame by tbe adven 
turous cbaracter of tbeir voyages, especially by tbat in wbicli it 
is averred tbat tbe latter visited tbe Continent of America. 

Purcbas, in speaking of discoveries made in tbe nortbern 
parts of tbe ISTew World, Greenland, Is ew France, etc., says : 
" Tbe first knowledge tbat batb come to us of tbose parts was by 
Nicbolas and Antonio Zeno. . . . Master Nicbolo Zeno, being 
wealtby, and of a baugbty spirit, desiring to see tbe fasbions of 
tbe world, built and furnisbed a sbip at bis own cbarge, passing 
tbe Straits of Gibraltar, beld on bis course nortbward, witb in- 
tent to see England and Flanders, but, a violent tempest assail- 
ing bim, be was carried be knew not wbitber." " He finally 
readied Friesland, according to tbe same old autbor, and was 
tbere w'itb bis companions saved from deatb at tbe bands of tbe 
natives, by Zicbmui, wbo was a cbief or ruler in tbat province. 
Tbis cbief, appreciating tbe nautical skill of Nicolo, placed bim 
in command of bis navy, and subjugated sundry islands. " After 
divers notable exploits," Nicolo armed tbree vessels in wbich 
be visited Engroneland (probably Iceland). Here be found a 
monastery, and a cburcb dedicated to St. Tbomas ; tbis was 
" bard by a bill, tbat cast out fire, like Vesuvius and Etna / tbere 
is a fountain of bot water witb wbicb tbey beat tbe cburcb of tbe 
monastery, and tbe friars' cbambers ; it cometb also into tbe 
kitcben so boiling bot tbat tbey use no otber fire to dress tbeir 
meat." 

Nicolo returned to Friesland in 1395, and died tbere ; bis 
brotber Antonio succeeded to bis fortune and bonors, and was 
employed by Zicbmui in an expedition to Estotiland. Tbis coun- 
try we are told lay " to tbe west of Friesland ; tbe people tbere 
possess some gold, sow corn, and make beer;" fiirtber soutb, 

*> " Pilgrimage," pp. 725, 726. The story of Madoc has been carefully examined 
by John Williams, LL. D. (London, 1791), to which the curious are referred. "^ 

41 "Pilgrimage," p. 735. 



THE ZEM BROTHERS. 91 

they go naked. In one region they visited, the ground was 
covered with the eggs of wild-fowl. The country was very ex- 
tensive, and was regarded as a new world. After this voyage 
Antonio returned to Venice, where he died soon after, in 1405. 
Such are the meagre data which have come down to us. 
Scanty as are the details, they go far to corroborate the assertion 
that Zeno touched upon the American Continent. Purchas says 
of the regions above named (New France, etc.), " The best geog- 
raphers are beholden to these brothers for that little knowl- 
edge they have of these parts." 



CHAPTER V. 

INTKODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF COLUMBUS. 

There is an ancient Indian table which reads : " This beau- 
tiful world we inhabit rests on the back of a mighty elephant ; 
the elephant stands on the back of a monster turtle ; the turtle 
rests upon a serpent ; the serpent on nothing." It well typifies 
the many splendid histories of Columbus, eloquent in the praise 
of their hero, proceeding often from the most eminent authors, 
and resting upon a stupendous " weight of authority " which is 
in itself nothing, or, worse than nothing, lalsehood ; yet, so deep- 
ly rooted are these falsehoods in the minds of the multitude, and 
so difficult are first impressions to erase, that many years will 
elapse before the question, " Who discovered America ? " will not 
be answered unhesitatingly with the name of Christopher Co- 
lumbus, Where one author, regarding truth as of more impor- 
tance than the reputation of any real or pretended hero, labors 
to show matters pertaining t6 this discovery in their true light, 
ten, nay, a hundred, will unreflectingly repeat the universally 
accepted theory, and stamp it indelibly on the minds of another 
generation. Great writers have immortalized, poets idealized, 
and priests would canonize Columbus. In the vindication of 
truth, the work is truly great, the laborers few, and the attempt 
to prove that this saintly demi-god was neither great, noble, 
heroic, nor even honest, appears but a thankless task. 

" There is a certain meddlesome spirit," writes Washington 
Irving, in his " Life of Columbus," " w'hich, in the garb of 
learned research, goes prying about the traces of history, casting 
down its monuments, and marring and mutilating its fairest 
trophies. Care should be taken to vindicate great names from 



TEUTH, THE AIM OF THE HISTORIAN. 93 

such pernicious erudition. It defeats one of the most salutary 
purposes of history, that of furnishing examples of what human 
genius and laudable enterprise may accomplish." " 

We, too, believe that one of the most laudable purposes of 
history is to furnish examples of what human genius and enter- 
prise can accomplish, and far be it from us to pry with meddle- 
some spirit ; but, we would ask, "Were genius and enterprise con- 
centrated in Columbus only ? If others were the authors of a 
scheme which he imperfectly carried out, should not their names 
be vindicated, their genius extolled? If the monuments ex- 
isting are false, should they not be overthrown, and the real ones 
raised triumphantly to the pedestals from which they have been 
so long and unjustly dethroned ? Above all, is not truth the 
greatest and most worthy object of history ? 

These questions, we believe, answer themselves. Before at- 
tempting to mar one of the fairest trophies of history, let us dis- 
cover by whom this trophy was raised ; in a word, let us exam- 
ine what constituted history, and especially Spanish- American 
history, at the time of Columbus. Let us not be deterred from 
rejecting a statement which is evidently untrue, because of the 
" weight of authority " upon which it rests ; nor let us blindly 
accept a false assertion because sanctioned by an Inquisitor ; 
neither will we denounce in general terms the authorities so 
often quoted, but endeavor to show their defects and errors, that 
the reader may himself judge how much is to be accepted as 
truth, and how much as the result of priestly tyranny, personal 
vanity, and interested deceit. 

" The writing of history, so far as. regards the New "World," 
Lord Kingsborough remarks, " was by the law of Spain restrict- 
ed to men in priestly orders." 

To a small work on Mexico, by Boturini, are appended — 

1. The declaration of his faith. 

2. The license of an Inquisitor. 

3. The license of the judge of the Supreme Council of the 
Indies. 

4. The license of the Jesuit father. 

5. The license of the Royal Council of the Indies. 

6. The approbation of the qualificator of the Inquisition. 

7. The license of the Royal Council of Castile. 

** Irving, "Life of Columbus," book i., chapter v. 



94 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Beyond all this, tlie person must be of sufficient influence to 
obtain the favorable notice of the bodies thus represented. 

Nor was this the end of the difficulty : the license of any one 
of these officials could be revoked at pleasure ; and, when repub- 
lished, the work had to be reexamined. 

The penalty attached to the possession of a book not thus 
licensed was death." 

In 1524 Venetian merchants were arrested, by the Holy 
Office, for selling Bibles with commentaries, by a writer of the 
twelfth century, Kabbi Solomon Raschi ; and their release could 
not be obtained by the Venetian ambassador, because it was al- 
leged that they were arrested for selling books against the Faith. 

Such was the tyranny which weighed upon historical writers ; 
and it is not difficult to perceive how all these censors would 
deal partially with Columbus. By representing himself as the 
chosen of God, the champion of the Christian religion, carry- 
ing the light of the Gospel to heathen nations, by performing the 
smallest acts with affectation of religious ceremony, by inserting 
scriptural and religious sentences in his most trivial letters, by 
recounting miracles and interviews with God, by giving, in fact, 
a religious coloring to all his acts, he became the protege of the 
Church, which has continued through all after-centuries to re- 
irard him as one of her most zealous votaries, and is now stren- 
uously urged to place him among her saints. 

Pope Alexander YI. (Boderigo Borgia) deeded the Conti- 
nent of America to Spain, solely on the statement of Columbus." 
To attack the latter was, therefore, to attack the justice of the 
pope's bull, and an indirect imputation on papal infallibility. 
" The learned and excellent divine Guistiniani," who published, 
we believe, the first polyglot edition of the Psalms, was bitterly 
assailed, and his book condemned to be burned," because, in a 
note appended to the nineteenth Psalm, containing a sketch of 

*^ Wilson, " New History of the Conquest of Mexico," chapter, ii., p. 81 ; Lord 
Kingsborough," vol. vii., p. 269. 

*• Count Roselly de Lorgues, in his " Life of Columbus " (vol. i., chapter xi., p. 400), 
speaking of this matter, says : " The pope has faith in Columbus. He yields full cre- 
dence to him and justifies his calculations. It is soldi/ on Columbus thai he depends ; 
it is relying on Columbus (hat lie engages in the vast partition of the unexplored world, 
between the crowns of Spain and Portugal. Everr/ thing the messenger of the cross pro- 
poses is granted in full, as a thing that is indicated bi/ Providence." 

*" Fernando, " Historia del Amirante," chapter ii. 



I 



SPANISH HISTORY. 95 

the life of Columbus (suggested by the words " In omnem ter- 
rcnn exivit somis eorum, et in finis tnundi verha eorum "), there 
are some statements which are not considered sufficiently flatter- 
ing to that individual. An examination of this note will prove 
to the reader how trivial an offense was sufficient to cause the 
destruction of a valuable work. One of the chief enormities it 
contains is the allegation that in his early life Columbus w^as a 
mechanic; this, his son and historian regards as an unspeakable 
insult. 

Laical censors, owing their authority to the same royal favor 
which protected Columbus, would naturally regard any history, 
detrimental to the latter, as militating against the Queen of Cas- 
tile. Thus it was that in Spain it became necessary for all who 
would write a history of the New World, to extol Columbus 
and the^hurch. 

To ecclesiastical tyranny and popular prejudice may be 
added the exaggerations and falsehoods of the chief actor of the 
scene, whose statements are accepted as gospel truth, even when 
at war with reason, common-sense, or known facts, and we shall 
perceive how difficult it will be to wade through errors, partiality, 
and injustice, and arrive at the truth regarding the character 
and deeds of this Columbus and his contemporaries. We have 
seen how history was compiled in his time. Subsequent Spanish 
historians, finding, even in the facts recorded, much which would 
militate against the honor of their country, as well as of the 
individuals concerned, have endeavored to soften the cruelties 
and enormities perpetrated ; while the modern American writer 
identifies the glory of his country with that of Cohimbus, and 
considers that to record any thing which is not highly in praise 
of the latter, is to insult America. How far this spirit is 
carried we may judge from the following passage in Washington 
Irving : 

"Herrera has been accused also of flattering his nation, ex- 
alting the deeds of his countrymen, and softe^ing and concealing 
their excesses. 

"There is nothing very serious in this accusation. To illus- 
trate the glory of his nation is one of the noblest offices of the 
historian ; and it is difficult to speak too highly of the extraordi- 
nary enterprises and splendid actions of the Spaniards in those 
days. In softening their excesses he fell into an amiable and 



96 



LIF£ OF COLUMBUS. 



pardonable error, if indeed it be an error for a Spaniard to en- 
deavor to sink them in oblivion." 

When we read such sentiments from the pen of one of Amer- 
ica's ablest writers, we confess that we lose some confidence in 
his statements. If history were to become the medium through 
which writers exaggerate the good and conceal the bad in their 
respective countries and favorite heroes, how vainly should we 
search for truth in the history of the same events, written in 
nations variously interested ! 

The historian has a nobler mission. The good and great he 
should indeed extol, that after-generations may be impelled 
to like actions ; but that which is disgraceful, cruel, or dishon- 
orable, he should fearlessly condemn ; he thus becomes the faith- 
ful mirror in which good and bad are alike reflected, ^xerting 
a salutary influence in his own country, believed and respected 
in others. 




IIluBtration of tortures Inflicted upon obnoxious or heretical authors of the time of Cohimbus. The 
Instruments below the burning psalter represent the " Mominjj Star," or " Holy -water Sprin- 
kler" (so called derisively), with which the blood of heretics was drawn. (.Sfie Moyrick's " De- 
scription of Ancient Anns and Armor at Goodrich Court," vol. ii., plates 92, 98.) 



CHAPTER YI. 

CONTEMPORARIES OF COLUMBUS. — FEEDINAND AND ISABELLA. 

If it is necessary to demonstrate the spirit in which his his- 
tory has hitherto been written, before attempting a truthful biog- 
raphy of Columbus, it is not less necessary, in order to form a 
just estimate of his character, to become acquainted with those 
of his contemporaries with whom he had more or less relation, 
and who have been favored or injured, according as they were 
favorable to him ; or as their character and achievements, supe- 
rior to his, would, unless willfully belittled, diminish greatly the 
meed of praise which has been accorded to him. 

The most prominent of these were Ferdinand of Aragon 
and Isabella of Castile, who are so intricately connected with 
the history of Columbus that it becomes necessary to elucidate 
their character, that the reader may judge of their conduct with 
regard to the latter. It has been too customary to lay the blame 
of all the calamities which Columbus entailed upon himself, by 
his deception and inhumanity, upon the " cold and calculating 
Ferdinand," " who is represented as having persistently endeav- 
ored to frustrate his lofty designs. These charges become void 
when we consider the marriage articles between Ferdinand and 
Isabella, signed and sworn to January Y, 1469, in which Ferdi- 
nand promised faithfully to respect the laws of Castile ; to fix his 
residence in that kingdom, and not to quit it without the con- 
sent of Isabella ; to alienate no property belonging to the crown ; 
to prefer no foreigners to municipal offices (his subjects were 
foreigners in Castile) ; to make no appointments, civil or military, 
without her consent or approbation ; to resign to her, exclusive- 
ly, the right of nomination to ecclesiastical benefices, etc., etc." 

They lived together, not like man and wife, whose estates 

■** Irving, " Life of Columbus," book xviii., chapter iii. 
*'' Prescott, " Ferdinand and Isabella," chapter iii. 



98 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

were blended, and subject to the direction of tbe husband, but 
like allied nionarclis, with separate and independent claims to 
sovereignty, each having their envoys, ministers, counselors, 
secretaries, and treasurers, and were often removed from each 
other while superintending their respective interests." The sub- 
jects of Ferdinand were not allowed even to visit the western 




Ferdinand of Abaoon. — ^From an Ulil Kngravinp in the Burpumlian Library.) 

** Irving, " Life of Columbus," book ii., chapter ii. Voltaire, " Essai sur Ics M(rurs." 
Ferdinand complains thus of his consort: " The reason why you do not write, is not 
because there is no paper to be had, or that you do not know how to write, but be- 
cause you do not love me, and because you are proud. You are living at Toledo, I 
am living in small villages. . . . The affairs of the princess " (their daughter) "must 
not be forgotten. For God's sak^ remember her, as also her fiither, who kisses your 
hands, and is your servant." We shall see how the uidiappy daughter he alludes to 
was remembered. 



DECEIT AND CRUELTY OF ISABELLA. 99 

islands when discovered. He was subject to the Queen of Castile, 
and perfectly unanswerable for any of her proceedings. Astute 
and suspicious as he no doubt was, he may have mistrusted the 
adventurer Christopher Columbus, but he was too jealously pre- 
vented from having any voice in the affairs of state for his sus- 
picions to have any eifect. 

Isabella, the patroness of Columbus, has been handed down 
to posterity as of ^'■glorious memory^'' the '■^ sweet qtieenP Pres- 
cott tells us "her honest soul abhorred any thing like artifice." 
She is represented as the type of womanly gentleness, virtue, 
and truth, coupled with masculine courage and intelligence ; but, 
alas ! as we peruse her history, and see her character reflected in 
the numerous dispatches she wrote, we perceive that the priest- 
hood, w^hich raised her to the throne of Castile, has done much 
toward embellishing her character, and endowing her with ficti- 
tious qualities. Transferred, at the early age of sixteen, to a 
court which Prescott terms " a brothel, private morals too loose 
to seek even the veil of hypocrisy ; " frequently betrothed to men 
who, if not yielding to the wishes of those who treated for their 
marriage with the future Queen of Castile, died in a manner as 
mysterious as sadden ; owing her throne itself to a scandalous 
imputation against her brother's wife, and the brand of illegiti- 
macy affixed to her niece, her early life too soon made her famil- 
iar with the immorality and unscrupulous intrigue of the court 
of Spain at that period. 

The fearful fires of the Inquisition filled Spain with a ghastly 
glare, and it was Isabella who applied the torch. She peti- 
tioned for the establishment of Torquemada as grand-inquisitor. 
Whole towns and villages were depopulated, and their wealth 
poured into the royal cofiers. Living and dead were alike per- 
secuted ; bodies were exhumed and burned, while the crown 
confiscated the wealth of the heirs. Isabella herself says : " I 
have caused great calamities, and depopulated towns, lands, 
provinces, and kingdoms ;" but this was all done, she protested, 
from love of Christ and his Holy Mother ! Those were liars 
and calumniators who said she had done so from love of money, 
for she had never touched a maravedi proceeding from the confis- 
cated goods, but had employed the money in educating and 
giving marriage-portions to the children of the condemned. It 
would seem discourteous, if not unjust, to doubt so solemn a 



100 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

declaration ; but, as we peruse the state papers, we find orders 
emanating from the queen which difier widely from the spirit 
of the above profession. For instance, one Pecho of Xerez was 
condemned for lieresy ; his property, amounting to two hundred 
thousand maravedis, was confiscated. The widow, whose portion 
was twenty thousand maravedis, was reduced with her children to 
the utmost destitution. As a special favor, Isabella granted them 
thirty thousand maravedis, while the remaining hundred and sev- 
enty thousand she appropriated to herself. Such eases abound ; 
and while so-called bounties, such as the above, are always record- 
ed, silence is presei*ved touching the many instances in which she 
appropriated the whole of the confiscated property. So terrible 
did her persecutions become, that the pope resolved to send a 
legate to Spain to investigate the proceedings of the Inquisition. 
Isabella strove to prevent this. 

" She used corruption on a large scale, larger even, as she de- 
clared, than was agreeable to herself. The final result was, that 
the courts of Spain and Home came to an understanding respect- 
ing the person who was to be sent as legate. lie received 
rich donations in Spain, and his inquiry was reduced to a 
mere form. It is characteristic of the queen, that the only condi- 
tion she made was that his Holiness should absolve her fj-om 
simony. 

The Inquisition was thus firmly established. Victims mul- 
tiplied ; two thousand men and women were burned, a greater 
number condemned to living death in the dungeons of that ter- 
rible institution, homesteads were abandoned, and thousands fled 
to neighboring countries. " The queen was implored to relent, 
but she answered that it was better for the service of God and 
herself to have the country depopulated, than to have it polluted 
by heresy." 

The archivero of Barcelona of that time has recorded a long 
list of autos-da-fe, the victims were of all classes — clergymen, 
oflicers in the army, tailors, and cobblers, but there is a dispro- 
portionately large number of widows of merchants. Mr. Bergen- 
roth, recording this fact, shrewdly inquires, "Were they really 
more inclined to heresy, or were they only rich, and compara- 
tively defenseless ? " '° 

*» G. A. Bcrgcnroth, "Introduction to Spanish State Papers," vol. i., 1486-1509. 
"Idem 



ISABELLA AN UNNATURAL MOTHER. 101 

Such was the beneficent rule of this virtuous queen over her 
own subjects. Her relations with foreign powers are equally to 
her discredit. Her correspondence teems with the grossest insin- 
ceritv and heartlessness. Her cruel neglect of her daughter shows 
her to have been sadly deficient in that domestic virtue and 
affection for which she has been so much praised ; a notable ex- 
ample of her deceptive policy and grasping avarice is found in 
the negotiations which took place for the marriage of her daugh- 
ter. She established a marriage brokerage in England, where 
she carried on the disgraceful business for many years, driving 
bargains, or seeking to do so, upon the persons of her daughters, 
conducting these negotiations more with an eye to filling her 
coffers, than to her own honor or her daughters' integrity. Her 
confidential agent at the court of England was Doctor de 
Puebla, selected, it is said, "because he was so uncommonly 
honest," but who, indeed, was a consummate knave, as is 
abundantly proved, not only by his making himself the me- 
dium of the abominable falsehoods he was instructed to utter 
by the queen, but by the following chapter of his history, con- 
tained in the Spanish archives under date of the 18th of July, 
1488: 

" The Spanish Merchants residing in London to Sanchez de Lon- 
dono and the Svh-jprior of Santa Cruz. 

" De Puebla had asked Henry to give a bishopric to him 
and other good livings to his sons and relatives. On account of 
the king having refused to do so, he had delayed the conclusion 
of the treaty of marriage. When Henry was in his greatest 
difficulties with Scotland and Perkin " (Warbeck), " De Puebla 
had repeated his demands. Henry had answered that he was unfit 
to become a bishop, because he was a cripple. De Puebla then 
proposed that the bishopric should be given to a certain procurator 
of Henry in Rome, from whom he had got one thousand gold 
crowns, for his promise to procure letters for him from the King 
and Queen of Spain to the pope, recommending him for a cardi- 
nal's hat. Henry was in such great difficulties then, that he had 
acceded to the proposals of De Puebla, and promised fifteen thou- 
sand crowns a year, besides, to one of his sons. As soon as De 
Puebla had obtained what he wanted, he concluded the mar- 



102 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

riage, which was so advantageous to Henry, that, in consequence 
of it, peace with Scotland was concluded, Perkin turned out of 
Scotland, and the rebels punished. Some merchants from Genoa 
had subjected themselves to a penalty in England ; they gave five 
hundred crowns, and cloth, and silk, for the marriage, to De 
Puebla, who settled their affair with Henry. 

" De Puebla had sold two licenses of the king for importing 
wine and woad, in Spanish vessels, to Spanish merchants, for two 
hundred crowns. 

" Francisco de Arvieto, of Orduna, had paid De Puebla one 
hundred gold crowns for a pardon for perjury. 

" Similar things are done almost daily by De Puebla. When 
he took part in the negotiations with Flanders, he persuaded the 
archduke to impose a duty of one gold florin on every piece of 
English cloth, the consequences of which have been to cause pro- 
longed debates and great disasters. 

" There is not a Spanish captain, or even a single sailor, who 
is not obliged to pay more or less to De Puebla if he has any 
thing to do in England. De Puebla often takes money from 
both parties if he has to decide a lawsuit. He is a spy and 
secret informer in all kinds of contraventions committed by sub- 
jects of any nation, only for the purpose of making money by 
his information. He and his servants sell testimonials of all 
kinds. 

"De Puebla constantly complains that he is badly paid, and 
lie begs money from the king and the gentlemen of the court. 
He lives meanly. He has been three years in a house of a 
mason, who keeps dishonest women. He eats with them and 
with all the apprentices at the same table, for twopence a day. 
His landlord robs men who come to his house, and the ambas- 
sador protects him, in his dishonest trade, against the police. 

" The consequence of all this is that the Spaniards are less 
esteemed and worse treated in England than any other foreign- 
ers." 

Elsewhere we read, " In a word, De Puebla was a liar, flat- 
terer, calumniator, beggar, spy, secret informer, enemy of truth, 
full of lies." 

The above are a few of the leading traits of character which 
seem to have so endeared De Puebla to Isabella that she retained 



ISABELLA AND DE PUEBLA. 103 

him in office after those who had been sent to England to inves- 
tigate his character and conduct had reported that " all the pa- 
per in England would not suffice to describe the character of that 
man." 

Her letters of instruction to him contain statements not only 
false but disgusting, and, though avarice and deceit are palpable 
throughout her multifarious and protracted negotiations to mar- 
ry her daughter, now to this prince, now to that, and now to 
some other, she aiFects to be making great sacrifices " for the love 
of Christ and his Holy Mother." In 1490 she writes to De Pu- 
ebla, calling him her " virtuous and intimate friend," urging him 
to persuade the King of England to declare war on France ; simi- 
lar efforts were made to induce the King of Scots to join the co- 
alition against France, and Isabella offered him her daughter. 
Princess Katherine, as an inducement — the said princess was then 
betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales ; but Isabella kept that 
betrothal secret, that she might impose upon other parties. 

Henry of England obtaining an inkling of the above trans- 
action, and not being quite satisfied, he was reassured by Isabella, 
who informed him that the King of Scots was to be the only 
dupe, and that it was to prevent the latter from aiding Warbeck, 
the so-called Duke of York. The huckstering with regard to 
the marriage of Isabella's children fills the reader of her dis- 
patches with disgust — the manner in which the matter was 
discussed being worse, if jDossible, than the object intended." 

*i Honest De Puebla writes his affectionate mistress that he has examined the per- 
son of her intended son-in-law, first clothed, then naked, and lastly when sleeping, 
and declares him possessed of admirable parts. 

Isabella was not to be outdone, even by the despicable De Puebla, for we find her 
subsequently seeking to drive a bargain upon the real or pretended virginity of her 
widowed dauffhfer, and for proof referring to Dona Elvira, "the first lady of the bed- 
chamber." Fearing that the latter may not be believed, she would establish the fact 
by a cloud of witnesses. 

On the 16th of June, 1502, she writes the Duke of Estrada: "Be careful also to 
get at the truth as regards the fact whether the Prince and Princess of Wales consum- 
mated the marriage, since nobody has told us about it. You must, moreover, use all 
the flattering persuasion you can to prevent them from concealing it from you." On 
the 12th of July of the same year, she continues to instruct the duke in this delicate 
mission as follows : 

" But now you must see of how great importance it is that there should be no delay 
in making the agreement for the contract of marriage of the Princess of Wales, our 
daughter, with the Prince of Wales who now is ... . Therefore, since it is ' already 
known for a certainly that the said Princess of Wales,^ our daughter, ' remai7is as she was 



104 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

DePuebla writes to Ferdinand and Isabella, July 18, 1488, as 
follows : 

" When speaking of the marriage, the king " (Henry YII.) 
" broke out into a Te Deiun laudamusP 

" The English declared, with regard to the alliance, there was 
not much to confer about, and began directly to speak of the 
marriage. They were exceedingly civil, and said a great many 
things in praise of Ferdinand and Isabella ; that being done, they 
asked the Spaniards to name the sum for the marriage-portion. 

" The Spanish anibassador replied that it would be more be- 
coming for the English to nam.e the marriage-portion, because 
they had first solicited the marriage, and their party is a son. 
The English commissioners asked five times as much as they had 
asked in Spain. 

" The Spanish ambassador proposed to refer this amount to 
Ferdinand and Isabella, who would act liberally in proportion 
to the confidence shown them. 

" The English commissioners said that such a proceeding 
would be inconvenient for both parties, and that Ferdinand 
and Isabella would not agree to it. 

"The Spanish ambassador complained that the English were 
unreasonable in their demands. Bearing in mind what happens 
every day to the Kings of England, it is surprising that Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella should dare to give their daughter at all. This 
was said with great courtesy, in order that they might not feel 
displeasure or be enraged. 

" The English commissioners abated one-third. 

" The Spaniards proposed that, as there was sufficient time 
for it, two or four persons should be selected as umpires. 

here ' {for so Doha Elvira has written to us\ endeavor to have the said contract agreed 
to immediately, without consulting us ; for any delay that might take place would be 
dangerous. See also that the articles be made and signed, and sworn to at once, and, 
if nothing more advantageous can be procured, let it be settled as was proposed. la 
that case let it be declared that the King of England has already received from us one 
hundred thousand scudos in gold, in part payment of the dowry, and let that be made 
an obligatory article of the contract, with a view to restitution, in accordance with the 
former directions given you. Let it be likc-.vise stipulated that we shall pay the rest of 
the dowry when the marriage is consummated, so please God ; that is, if you should not 
be able to obtain more time. But, take heed, on no account to agree for us to pay what 
still remains of the dowry until the marriage shall have been consummated . ... Be 
very vigil.int about this, and endeavor to have the contract made, without delay, and 
without consulting us. Do not, however, let them sec you have any suspicion of hin- 
derance, or show so much eagerness that it may cause them to cool." 



MARRIAGE HUCKSTERAGE. 105 

The Englisli commissioners declined it, and gave their rea- 
sons. 

" The Spaniards desired the English to name their lowest 
price. 

" The English abated one-half. 

" The Spaniards said that this marriage would be so advanta- 
geous to the King of England that he ought to content himself 
with what is generally given with princesses of Spain. 

" The English desired to have every thing defined, in order 
to avoid disputes after the conclusion of the marriage. They 
asked twice as much as they had asked in Spain. 

" The Spanish ambassador offered one-fourth. 

" The English asked why, as the money was not to come out 
of the strong boxes of the king and queen, but out of the pock- 
ets of their subjects, they should not be more liberal. They 
referred to old treaties with France, Burgundy, and Scotland, 
proving by them that even higher marriage - portions were 
given." 

When the marriage is at length concluded, there is a large 
amount of negotiation as to who shall pay the passage of the 
Princess Katherine to England, and who shall clothe her. We 
read in one dispatch : 

" Ferdinand and Isabella are to send the princess in a decent 
manner, and at their own expense, to London. 

" They are to dress their daughter suitably to her rank " 
{Jionorifice), " and to give her as many jewels, etc., for her personal 
use as becomes her position." 

In answer to which, Isabella writes De Puebla : 

" King Henry asks them to bind themselves to give their 
daughter ornaments and apparel, without deducting the amount 
from the marriage-portion. Such a proceeding is against cus- 
tom. Husbands provide the dresses of their wives. They are 
willing to buy as many di'esses and ornaments for the Princess 
Katherine as the English wish, provided the cost be deducted 
from the marriage-portion, and, if not, they will give what they 
think proper. . . . He is to inform himself what the dowry of 
the queen would be in such a case, and to secure to the Princess 
Katherine a somewhat larger dowry than other Queens of Eng- 
land have enjoyed." 

Again Isabella insists that " one-half, or one-third, or at any 



106 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

rate the fourth part " (of the marriage-portion), " must be accepted 
in ornaments and apparel for the person and household of the 
infanta." 

This daughter became a widow on the 2d of April, 1502. 
The news does not seem to have reached Isabella until more 
than a month after the death of the English prince. She loses 
no time, but on the 10th of May, 1502, commissions the Duke 
of Estrada to endeavor to conclude a marriage between her wid- 
owed daughter and the Prince of "Wales, surviving brother of 
her late husband, with instructions as to dower, etc., etc. 

This done, it is not till two days later that she writes, for 
the eye of King Henry, the following letter of condolence to her 
minister at London : " Have read with profound sorrow the 
news of the death of Prince Artlnir. The affliction caused by 
all their former losses has been revived by it. But the will of 
God must be obeyed." 

Richard III. excited disgust by courting a widow beside the 
bier of her late husband. Had Isabella chanced to be in Eng- 
land at the death of this son-in-law, it seems probable that nego- 
tiations for a second husband for her bereaved daughter would 
have preceded the funeral of the first. 

Again, her deceit is manifested by the following instruction 
to Estrada, who is negotiating for this second marriage : '* In 
case that you hear any thing of the King of France, appear as if 
you did not know it, until after the treaty of marriage is con- 
cluded." (The King of France had just declared war on Spain.) 
"Afterward you must show to the King of England the relation 
which we send you of the matters between us and the King of 
France." 

All this bargaining for a daughter's marriage, and the duplic- 
ity with which it is carried on, certainly evince that avarice, 
meanness, and deceit, were attributes of Isabella's character. 
But, should further proof seem necessary, it may be found in the 
following extracts from a document in which Isabella commis- 
sions Estrada to raise an army in England : 

" Queen Isabella of Sjyahi to Ferdinand, Diike of Estrada, 
October 3, 1503. 

" If the Kino: of England should not be inclined to afford us 
further assistance, he must, at any rate, be pleased to give us tho 



FALSEHOODS OF ISABELLA. 107 

assistance which is obligatory upon him ; and, upon our forward- 
ing the money, send us troops. Tell him that you have the money ^ 
and that we pray and require him to be willing, immediately, to 
send two thousand English infantry, picked men and well armed 
.... this being done, you shall endeavor to make them embark 
instantly .... try your utmost to have the troops you shall thus 
send, the best chosen, and the best armed, that it is possible to 
obtain ; and get them to come as soon as ever they can. . . . As 
regards the pay that will have to be made to the said troops, en- 
deavor to let it be as little as possible .... (three ducats per 
month are suggested). . . . Borrow the Tnoney that will he re- 
guiredfor the aforesaid jpay, agreeing for us to repay it in Eng- 
land, on the terms stipulated by you .... But, should you not 
have ships at present, in which the said infantry can come as 
above said, you must not give them any pay. Endeavor, how- 
ever, to find out how many troops are to come .... spread 
abroad a report in England that there are many more troops go- 
ing to Spain ; because, as you will see, such tidings and rumors 
will inspire France with fear, and will produce a favorable impres- 
sion in Italy. 

" If you should see that it will not annoy the King of England 
our brother, and the chief men of his kingdom, and that it can 
do no harm, make use of the Princess of Wales, our daughter ; 
that is to say, should you not be able to obtain the money neces- 
sary for the dispatch of the said troops ; .... in that case, you 
shall say to her, by virtue of my letter of credence which I will 
send, that you pray her to raise, upon her jewels and plate, the 
money which may be necessary for the dispatch of the two thou- 
sand infantry." 

This dispatch concerning the army might naturally be sup- 
posed to pertain to Ferdinand, but the reader will perceive that 
it bears the name of Isabella alone ; it contains as much falsehood 
and duplicity as could well be inclosed in so small a space. First, 
her agent is instructed to tell the king he has the money ; second- 
ly, to borrow the money on the credit of Isabella ; thirdly, to ob- 
tain it by pawning the jewels and plate of Princess Katherine. 
Nor can the meanness be overlooked with which she stipulates 
for the best troops, best equipped, poorest paid, and most hastily 
concentrated ; and then, if she should not be ready to trapsport 



108 LIFE OF COLUMBUL. 

tliem, they are to receive no pay. Furthermore, her agent is 
charged to circulate a false report with regard to the number of 
troops. Finally, let us consider the financial condition of the 
Princess Katherine (who is to raise the necessary funds), from 
her own account. She had always been kept in straitened cir- 
cumstances till, in 1502, she writes to her father thus : 

" No woman, of whatever station in life, can have suflered 
more than she has. None of the promises made to her on the 
occasion of her marriage, have been kept. Repeats once more 
that which has formed the principal part of all her letters, name- 
ly, the necessity of sending a suitable ambassador with sufficient 
means of subsistence. The circumstance that the former ambas- 
sadors were not properly provided for, has been the cause of all 
her sufierings .... Has never told him the whole extent of her 
misery. Has been treated worse in England than any other 
woman. . . . Has not more than five women in her service. 
They have not received the smallest sum of money since they 
were in England, and have spent all that they possessed. Can- 
not think of them without pangs of conscience. No money 
could pay their services and sacrifices, which have continued dur- 
ing six years. Has been unable to pay a single penny to the 
courier who takes this letter." 

Alonzo de Escobal, of the household of Princess Katherine, 
writes to Almazan (September 6, 1507) : " He w^ould not mention 
his great necessity if there were any other means to remedy it ; 
begs him to remind the king in what poverty the servants of the 
Princess of Wales live. Thinks he has a right to ask at least his 
salary, is obliged to sell his clothes. Has seen the Princess of 
Wales only three times since Dona Elvira has left her. Doiia 
went away in a horrible hour ; but such things are better suited 
for conversation than for letters." 

Again the Princess of Wales writes : 

" That her necessities have risen to such a height, that she 
knows not how she shall be able to sustain herself, now that 
even her household goods have been sold." 

Few will deny, after perusing the extracts we have given, 
that Isabella is proved, by her own words and acts, to have been 
an unloving wife, an imnatural mother, a cruel and despotic 
sovereign, a deceitful and treacherous ally, an avaricious and un- 
scrupulous woman. It is easy to perceive how in spite of all this 



FERDINAITD AND ISABELLA. 109 

so much partiality has been shown her, often to the detriment 
of her husband. Besides the favor of the Church, for which she 
professed so much zeal, the chivalry of the Spaniards has always 
made them remember she was a lady, and they have dealt cour- 
teously with her. Moreover, her marriage did not smother the 
old rivalry and strife between the Corona and Coronilla. Isabella 
represented the corona^ or great crown of Castile, while Ferdi- 
nand merely represented the coronilla, or small crown of Ara- 
gon. Castile never regarded him with favor, considering him an 
intruder, who had much to gain and little to lose by his alliance, 
and the opinion of Castile, as the leading and larger portion of 
the kingdom, has been received as that of all Spain. It is diflS- 
cult for the most impartial historian not to be influenced by 
such a judgment, unless he refer to the original papers and let- 
ters of the time, and with their assistance form an opinion of 
his own. 

That we faiay not appear wantonly to have inveighed against 
a sovereign who has so long been considered a shining light, we 
will not rest solely upon the views we may have derived from 
our own investigation, but will quote the conclusions at which 
Mr. Bergenroth, who spent many years in arduous study amid 
the archives of Simancas, has at length arrived. His familiarity 
with the state papers renders him abundantly competent to give 
an opinion : 

" Neither Ferdinand nor Isabella scrupled to tell direct un- 
truths, and make false promises, w'henever they thought it expe- 
dient to their policy. But if any distinction is to be made, 
certainly Queen Isabella excelled her husband in disregard to 
veracity. It even seems to have been a matter of understanding 
between them that, whenever any very flagrant falsehood was to 
be uttered, she should be the one to do it. . . . Ferdinand had 
not the reputation, among princes of his time, of being a very 
untruthful man. . . . The queen often spoke of her dress. 
She dwelt much upon her simplicity, and laid great stress on the 
circumstance that she had been obliged to receive the French 
ambassadors twice in the same costume, while she spent large 
sums to the glory of God, and the good of the w^orld. This 
kind of letters have often been published, and have not a little 
contributed to exalt her as a pious character. But such persons 
as had opportunities of seeing her, and of judging by their own 



IIQ LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

observations, could not find words expressive enough to describe 
the splendor of her attire. . . . Machada assured the King of 
Eno-land that a single toilet of Queen Isabella amounted in value 
to two hundred thousand scudi, and that he never saw her 
twice, even on the same day, whether it were at an audience, a 
bull-fight, or a ball, in the same costume ; we may, therefore, con- 




ISA.BELLA OF Castile. — (From an Authentic Engraring in the Burgundian Library.) 

jecture that she carried on her person the greater portion of the 
contents of the royal exchequer. . . . Neither Ferdinand nor 
Isabella were scholars. They spoke and wrote Spanish well, but 
seemed to have been unable to understand any otlier language. 
With regard to their moral character, the queen has been ex- 
tolled as simple-hearted and pious, while a large amount of op- 
probrium has been cast upon the king. But it is very difficult, 



ISABELLA AND SAEMIENTO. HI 

wbere two persons are so intimately united as Ferdinand and 
Isabella, to decide what measure of praise or blame attaches to 
the one or the other. They quarreled sometimes about their 
private concerns. It could scarcely be otherwise, when we re- 
member that Ferdinand had four illegitimate children by differ- 
ent mothers. But in their aggressive foreign policy, and in their 
measures of oppression at home, they were always agreed. . . . 
She (Isabella) appears to have been very liable to mistake her 
own interests for those of God, whose name she constantly had 
on her lips, or to substitute self-gratification for real love of the 
people. For instance, in her letter to Henry YII., dated Sep- 
tember 15, 1496, she enlarged in the most touching terms on the 
blessings of peace, and concluded by saying that, if it were pos- 
sible to avoid thereby the calamities of war, she would not only 
send one and more than one embassy to the King of France, 
but that she would go to him in her own person, and ask him to 
make peace, not sparing herself any trouble or pains whatever. 
No words can be more becoming a great and pious queen. It is 
to be regretted that, in the same letter, she urged the King of 
England to declare war on France, and thereby to render the 
bloodshed and slaughter more general even than it was. . . . 
Queen Isabella left behind her, or, more accurately speaking, 
acquired after her death, the reputation of having been almost a 
saint. But, unhappily, the sanctity of Isabella was only of a 
spurious kind. Her subjects, who had suffered from her iron 
rule, had formed a widely different idea of her. When, on Tues- 
day, the 17th of November, 1504, she died at Medina del Campo, 
crowds assembled under the windows of her palace, but not to 
bless her memory. From curious criminal proceedings instituted 
some years later against Sarmiento, corregidor or mayor of Me- 
dina, we learn that he did not hesitate to declare that her soul 
had gone direct to hell, for her cruel oppression of her subjects, 
and that King Ferdinand was a thief and a robber. Nor was 
Sarmiento the only person who thought thus, as the witnesses 
deposed that all the people around Medina and Yalladolid, that 
is to say, where the queen was best known, had formed the same 
judgment of her." 

We will conclude with the following opiniouj at which Mr. 
Bergenroth arrives, and which appears pertinent and correct • 

" We are not reduced to depend upon public opinion, know- 



112 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

ing enongli of her to judge for ourselves ; and, to any one ac- 
quainted with the lawless times of her youthful years, it must be 
obvious that, had she really been so pious, so meek, and self-sac- 
rificing a princess as her admirers would fain have us believe, 
she would have been trodden under foot, instead of usurping, as 
she did, the crown of her niece." 

This brief investigation of the character of Isabella has ap- 
peared to us necessary. She has hitherto been regarded as of 
an almost saintly nature ; the mere fact of such a woman having 
tendered her gracious protection and friendship to Columbus, 
would of itself speak highly in his favor. But, when we become 
acquainted with the true character of Isabella, it is easy to under- 
stand how she cajoled him as long as his splendid falsehoods 
promised to gratify her cupidity, and abandoned him when his 
untruthfulness was discovered. 

Ferdinand, who has been made the scape-goat, was, as we 
have already shown, wholly unanswerable for the proceeding of 
Isabella in this as in all matters pertaining to Castile. In spite 
of this unanswerable evidence, Mr. Irving does not hesitate to 
say : " Let the ingratitude of Ferdinand stand recorded in its 
full extent, and endure throughout all time. The dark shadow 
which it casts upon his brilliant renown will be a lesson to all 
rulers, teaching them what is important to their own fame in 
their treatment of illustrious men." 



CHAPTER YIL 

CONTEMPOKAKIES OF COLUMBUS (cONTDTUED) 



AMERIGO VESPUCCI. 



The leading incidents in the life of Yespucci are better 
known than his character is rightly judged ; we will therefore 
give but a rapid sketch of the former, and, in speaking of the lat- 




ter, dwell somewhat upon certain facts which, it appears to us, 
go far toward rehabilitating the memory of this great man, who 
has been so unjustly censured and condemned. 



114 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Amerigo was tlie son of Nastagio Vespucci and Lisbetta 
Mini his wife. The family was an old and honored one in the 
fifteenth century ; before the time of Amerigo they had left the 
little village of Peretola, whence they originated, and came to 
Florence, where they resided in the stately mansion which Was 
afterward a hospital for the sick under the care of the Brothers 
of St. John of God. In this house Amerigo was born, on the 9th 
of March, 1451. Over the entrance is an inscription commemo- 
rating the fact, also the achievements of the great man ; it reads 
thus: 

"AMERIGO VESPUCCIO PATRiaO FLORENTINO 

OB REPERTAM AMERICAM 

SUI ET PATRIAE N0MINI8 ILLUSTRATORI 

AMPLmCATORI. ORBIS. TERRARUM. 

IN HAG OLIM VESPUCCIA DOMO 

A TANTO VIRO HABrrATA 

PATKES SANCn lOAKTNlS DE DEO CTTLTORES 

GRATAE MEMORIAE CAUSSA. 



5J M 



Amerigo passed his youth in study, under Giorgi Antonio 
Vespucci, his uncle (a Dominican friar who instructed many of 
the youth of Florence), and on reaching manhood he entered the 
commercial career in the famous house of the Medici. As confi- 
dential agent of this house, he was in 1492 sent to Spain to su- 
perintend business transactions in that country. The trust 
reposed in him by such eminent men as the Medici and Berardi 
is a sufficient encomium upon the capacity and honesty of Ves- 
pucci ; and not the least proof of his integrity is the fact that the 
suspicious King Ferdinand of Aragon (who regarded Columbus 
as an impostor, or at best an unworthy adventurer) reposed such 
confidence in him that he appointed him to assist in the discov- 
eries he desired to be made in the West. The antecedents of Ves- 
pucci seem far better to have qualified him for a serious under- 

** " To Americus Vespucius, a noble Florentine, 

Who, by the discovery of America, 
Rendered his own and his country's name illustrious, 

The amplifier of the world. 
Upon this ancient mansion of the Vespucci, 

Inhabited by so great a man. 
The Holy Fathers of St. John of God 

Have erected this tablet, sacred to his memory. 



AMEEIGO YESPCJCCI. 115 

taking than those of Columbus. During his well-spent youth he 
had made geography, cosmography, and astronomy, objects of 
special study, while the nautical experience of the latter had 
been gained during a long career of piracy. 

The first voyage of Yespucci was at the instance of King 
Ferdinand, in 1497, as is stated in his letter relating the events 
which took place therein. ^^ His detractors seek to cast odium 
upon him, by declaring this letter an invention, and the voyage 
a fiction. This charge may be refuted by reference to the letter 
itself. From the description contained in it of the bay of Yene- 
zuela, that province received its name. He writes : 

"We landed in a port where we found a village built over 
the water, like Yenice. There were about forty-four houses, 
shaped like bells, built upon very large piles, having entrances 
by means of drawbridges, so that, by laying the bridges from 
house to house, the inhabitants could pass through the whole. 
When the people saw us they appeared to be afraid of us, and, to 
protect themselves, suddenly raised all their bridges, and shut 
themselves up in their houses. While we stood looking at them 
and wondering at this proceeding, we saw coming toward us by 
sea about two-and-twenty canoes, which are the boats they make 
use of, and are carved out of a single tree. They came directly 
toward our boats, appearing to be astonished at our figures and 
dress, and keeping at a little distance from us. This being the 
case, we made signals of friendship, to induce them to come 
nearer us, endeavoring to reassure them by every token of kind- 
ness ; but, seeing that they did not come, we went toward them. 
They would not wait for us, however, but fled to the land, mak- 
ing signs for us to wait, and giving us to understand that they 
would soon return. They fled directly to a mountain, but did 
not tarry there long, and, when they returned, brought with them 
sixteen of their young girls, and, entering their canoes, came to 
our boats and put four of them into each boat, at which we were 
very much astonished, as your excellency may well imagine. 
Then they mingled with their canoes among our boats, and we 
considered their coming to speak to us in this manner to be a 
token of friendship. Taking this for granted, we saw a great 
crowd of people swimming toward us from the houses, without 
any suspicion. At this juncture, some old women showed them- 

^ F, A. de Vanhagen, " Analyse Critique de la Tie de Vespuce." 



116 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

selves at the doors of their houses, wailing and tearing their 
hair, as if in great distress. From this we began to be suspicious, 
and had immediate recourse to our weapons, when suddenly the 
girls, who were in our boats, threw themselves into the sea, and 
the canoes moved away, the people in them assailing us with 
their bows and arrows. 




Vespucci in Vexkzuei, a.— (Reduced from Herrera's "Ili.-u.i,, .„ ,..^ WVsL Indies/') 

At the time Vespucci's letter was published, no description 
of the countries in question existed ; yet his minute accounts of 
the appearance, religion, and customs of the inhabitants, as well 
as of the vegetation, formation of the coast, etc., were corrobo- 
rated by subsequent visitors to that part of America between 
Honduras and Chesapeake, which we are led to infer was the 



VESPUCCI AND OJEDA. 117 

scene of his first voyage. He must, therefore, have either visited 
the country, or possessed the gift of divination." 

Other writers, equally virulent against the Florentine discov- 
erer, declare that he sailed in a subordinate capacity under Yin- 
cent Yanez Pinzon, and Juan Solis. This is an ungenerous at- 
tempt to belittle a great man. Isabella had, at the urgent insti- 
gation of Columbus, passed a decree forbidding any voyages to 
the islands recently discovered, except under the command of 
the latter. This decree was revoked in 1494, in favor of all sub- 
jects of Castile, who were thenceforward authorized to jDrepare 
expeditions at their own expense, or at that of the crown, for the 
purpose of discovering Western lands for Castile. They were 
obliged to depart from Cadiz, having presented themselves be- 
fore the officers of the crown to obtain a license. Amerigo be- 
ing an alien, employed by the King of Aragon, could not, there- 
fore, openly command an expedition, and it was probably nomi- 
nally conducted by Yincent Yanez and Juan Solis. These men 
were skillful pilots. Yespucci was, however, their equal if not 
superior in cosmographical knowledge ; and, although his letters, 
contrasting in this point strongly with those of Columbus, are 
singularly devoid of all personal allusion to himself of a lauda- 
tory character, they evidently emanate from a man of intellect 
and science, carefully noting the appearance and habits of a new 
country and people, for the purpose of reporting the particulars. 
It is believed, therefore, that the expedition, by whomsoever 
nominally conducted for the purpose of evading the national 
edict, was really directed by Amerigo. 

The second voyage of Yespucci was in 1499, and we have 
reason to believe he was accompanied by Alonzo de Ojeda, from 
whom, however, he became separated during the voyage, Ojeda's 
return to Spain being previous to that of Yespucci. In this 
voyage he touched upon the most easterly point of Brazil, and 
coasted northwestward as far as the island of Curasao and the 
gulf of Paria, where he writes he bought pearls of the natives 
for a mere nothing. He then sailed for Hispaniola, where he 
was to take on provisions and repair his ships. His crew were 
maltreated by those who were in the island with Columbus, 
" from envy I believe," he writes, but refrains from entering 
into particulars. He returned to Spain on the 8th of September, 

^ Tarhigen, " Analyse critique," p. 94. 



118 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

1500. lie was received, we are told, with great joy by all, par- 
ticularly by tlie king and queen. He brought tine pearls and 
precious stones of great value, which were placed in the royal 
gallery. His fame spread far and wide, and in his native city, 
Florence, there was great exultation over his success — so great 
that public places were, by order of the signiory, illuminated 
three nights, which was considered a great honor, accorded by 
vote, with much solemnity, to the worthiest and greatest citizens 
only." 

While he was in Seville, reposing from the fatigues of these 
two voyages, the King of Portugal sent thither agents who were 
to persuade him to prosecute for that monarch the discovery of 
Brazil, which Cabral had accidentally made in 1500. Yespucci 
consented, and it was in the service of Portugal that he under- 
took his third voyage. He explored the coast of Brazil south- 
ward, and some authors state that, in adopting a southeastern 
course, he discovered an island* which was no other than Giorgio ; 
this, however, is merely hypothetical. The details of this, as of 
the other voyages, are to be found in the authentic letters of 
Amerigo, which were published during his lifetime. On his re- 
turn to Lisbon, in September, 1502, so great was the satisfaction 
of the King of Portugal at the manner in which he had con- 
ducted the enterprise, that in May, 1503, six caravels were placed 
at his disposal, wherewith to search for a southwestern passage 
to the Indies. In this he was not successful, and, after being sepa- 
rated from the other ships (one of which he afterward rejoined), 
he again touched on Brazil, followed its coast southward till he 
reached Cape Frio, where he took on a large quantity of Brazil- 
wood ; he also built a fortress and founded a small factory, and 
returned to Lisbon on the ISth of June, 1504. Ferdinand of 
Spain was now eager to regain his services. His rare knowledge 
and experience rendered him equally valuable to each of the 
rival raonarchs. Ferdinand prevailed, and in 1505 Vespucci 
returned to Spain. About this time he married a lady of Seville, 
Maria Cerezo, by whom, howeAcr, he left no children. Amerigo 
now occupied himself in fitting out ships for an expedition 
which was to go in search of the spice-lands of Asia. These 
preparations, though commenced in 1505, were not completed 

" Bandini, " Tita di Amerigo Vespucci," cap. iii"., p. 45. 



APPOINTED PILOT MAJOR. 119 

till 1507, from the fact, perhaps, of its having been stipulated 
that the ships were to be new ones. 

There is a possibility of Yespucci having made a fifth voyage 
diirino- this interval, which some writers believe was the cause of 
the peculiar favors accorded him by the Spanish crown ; it is 
as probable, however, if not more so, that the king, recognizing 
his merit and learning, desired to profit by them. However this 
may be, the office of Pilot-Major of Spain was created for him in 
1508, and he was charged to examine and instruct all pilots in 
the use of the astrolabe, to ascertain whether their practical knowl- 
edge equaled their theoretical ; also to revise maps, and to com- 
pose one of the new lands, to be regai*ded as standard.^* 

^* The royal order, appointing Vespucci to this office, which was read and pub- 
lished in all the cities, villages, and hamlets of the kingdom, reads thus: . . . "We 
command that all pilots of our kingdom and lordships, who now are, shall hencefor- 
ward be, or desire to be, pilots on the said route to the said islands and terra fiiina 
which we hold in the Indies, and other parts of the ocean seas, shall be instructed 
and possess all necessary knowledge of the use of the quadrant and astrolabe ; and 
in order that they may unite practice with theory, and profit thereby in the said voy- 
ages which they may make to the said lands, they shall not be able to embark as pilots 
in the said vessels, nor receive wages for pilotage, nor shall merchants be able to 
negotiate with them as such, nor captains receive them on board their ships, without 
their having been first examined by you^ Amerigo Despuchi, our pilot-major, and reeeiv- 
ing from, you a certificate of examination and approbation, certifying that they are pos- 
sessed each one of the knowledge aforesaid ; holding which certificate, we command 
that they be held and received as expert pilots, wherever they shall show themselves- 
for it is our will and pleasure that you should be examiner of the said pilots. And, 
that those who do not possess the required knowledge, shall the more easily acquire 
it, we command that you shall instruct, at your residence in Seville, all such as shall 
be desirous of learning and remunerating you for your trouble. 

" And as it might well happen that at first there should be a scarcity of examined 
pilots, and that thereby vessels might be detained, and damage and loss ensue to the 
people of the said islands and the merchants and others who trade therewith, we com- 
mand you, the said Amerigo, and give you license to choose from among the pilots 
and mai'iners who have voyaged thither, the most able, that for one voyage or two, or 
for a certain space of time they may supply the demand, while others are acquiring 
the necessary knowledge, and on their return you shall assign to them a period in 
which they may learn whatever they may be deficient in. And as it has been told us 
that there are many different charts, by different captains, of the lands and islands of 
the Indies belonging to us, and by our orders recently discovered, the which charts 
differ greatly from each other, both in the route indicated and in the position of the 
lands, which causes much inconvenience — therefore, that there may be order in all 
things, it is our will and pleasure that a standard chart shall be made ; and, that it 
may be the more correct, we command the officer of our Board of Trade in Seville to 
call an assembly of our most able pilots, that shall at that time be in the country, and, 
in presence of you, the said Amerigo Despuchi, our pilot-major, there shall be planned 



120 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

He led this comparatively tranquil life for four years, and 
died the 22d of February, 1512. He left no ■w'ealtli, having 
seemingly lost sight of pecuniary interest in his desire to prose- 
cute voyages of discovery ; his papers he left to his nephew, Juan 
Yespncci. A pension was granted his widow, which after her 
death was made reversible to her sister. 

In none of his writings does Yespucci claim for himself ad- 
vancement, honor, or emolument, nor does he seek to delude his 
patrons with visions of untold wealth. Ills letters are the easy 
effusions of a great mind filled with admiration at the fertile re- 
gions, balmy climate, and primitive races of the Xew World. 
Ever modest, he merges himself in the greatness of his undertak- 
ing; and, if the civilized world with one accord gave his name to 
the regions he was the first in modern times to visit, it was a 
tribute which it deemed just, and paid unasked. Why, then, 
should we be taught to consider this judgment unjust ? "When 
the Church, with its Inquisition j before whose severe censorship 
all works of history (and more especially those relating to the new 
lands) had to pass, was laboring with unremitting zeal for the ag- 
grandizement of Columbus, and the ignoring of all his contempo- 
raries, no opposition was raised in Si')ain to the naming of the con- 

and drawn a chart of all the lands and islands of the Indies, which have hitherto been 
discovered belonging to our kingdom ; and upon this consultation, subject to the ap- 
proval of you, our pilot-major, a standard chart shall be drawn, which shall be called 
the Royal Chart, by the which all pilots must direct and govern themselves. This shall 
remain in the possession of our said officers, and of you, our said pilot-major ; and no 
pilot shall ?«e any other chart, without incurring a penalty of fifty doubloons, to be paid 
to the Board of Trade of the Indies in the city of Seville. We also command all pilots 
of our kingdoms and lordships that henceforward shall go to the said lands of the 
Indies, discovered or to be discovered, that should they find new lands, islands, bays, 
or ports, or any other thing worthy of note, they shall mark it upon tlie said Royal 
Chart, and, returning to Castile, shall go and give an account thereof to you, our said 
pilot-major, and to the officers of the Board of Trade in Seville, that all may be put 
down in its place in the said Royal Chart, to the end that navigators may be the more 
apt and learned in navigation. Moreover, we command that none of our pilots, who 
shall henceforward navigate the ocean seas, shall be without their quadrant and astro- 
labe, and the appurtenances thereof, under penalty of being disqualified for service 
for as long a time as it shall be our pleasure, and shall not be able to resume their 
position without our special license, and without paying a fine of ten thousand mara- 
vedis to the said Board of Trade of Seville. And it is our will and pleasure that in 
virtue of the above, you, the said Amerigo Despuchi, shall use and exercise the said 
functions of our pilot-major, and shall be able to do, and shall do, all things pertain- 
ing to that office, contained in tliis our letter," etc. — Navarette, " Colcccion dc los 
viajes y Descubrimientos," etc., etc., vol. iii., p. 299. 



REASONS FOR THE NAME AMERICA. 121 

tinent after its first explorer. Moreover, we read that the name 
was given by a royal mandate emanating from the crown of Cas- 
tile. Apiano," who wrote almost contemporaneoijs with Colum- 
bus and Yespucci, makes no mention of the former in his chapter 
on America, but merely states that this " fourth part of the world 
received its name from Amerigo Yespucci, discoverer of the same, 
... in 1497, by order of the King of Spain." Yiscount San- 
tarem, in a, life of Yespucci, which evinces extreme hostility to » 
the latter, and unbounded partiality to the cause of Columbus, 
seeks to account for the naming of the continent from the fact 
that a ^'host of eminent geographers and historians wKo wrote 
during the lifetime or im^mediately after the death of Coluinhus, 
ascribe the discovery of the New World to Amerigo^ and name it 
after him in their histories, geographies, and maps." He adds, 
""Which name Apian, Yadiamus, and Camers, have since widely 
spread through Strasbourg, Friburg, and Yienna, while the pro- 
digious celebrity of the little book of Apian has propagated the 
evil by innumerable editions published in Holland and else- 
where." He might have said in Spain,"*® in the language of 
which country the work was published, having passed the severe 
censorship of the Church, Crown, and Inquisition, to which, as 
we have already stated, all works relating to the new lands were 
subjected. If, therefore, we find in a book, bearing the impress 
of the Inquisition, a statement militating against the claims of 
Columbus, which we know the Inquisition sought to further to 
the utmost, we may very reasonably infer that statement to have 
been regarded as incontestable. We know that Columbus lived 
upon friendly terms with Yespucci for more than seven years 
after the latter had publicly laid claim to the discovery of the 
continent.'' Las Casas, moreover, writes : " I cannot but wonder 
that Hernando Colon, a clear-sighted man, who, as I certainly 
hnow, had in his hand Amerigo's account of his travels, should 
not have remarked in them any deceit or injustice toward the 
admiral." We presume that Fernando, as well as his father, 
was more competent to judge of the causes of their silence upon 

^^ An eminent geographer and astronomer. 

^^ The Spanish copy of Apiano, from which our extract is taken, was published 
only fifteen years after the death of Columbus. 

'^ Herrera, relating events which happened in 1501, tells us, as of an old story, that 
"Americus Vespuccius was, with Ojeda, s?(7i persisting in arrogating to himself the 
honor of having discovered the continent." Columbus died in 1506. 



122 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

this subject than Las Casas, or any other of their extravagant 
admirers ; and had there been the least pretext for refuting the 
statements of Vespucci, or denying his achiev^ements, it is not 
likely they would have tailed to do so ; yet in after-yeai's the 
votaries of Columbus raisad the hue-and-cry of imposition against 
Yespucci ; they tampered with his letters, changing dates," sup- 
pressing or perverting facts, that there might be apparent incon- 
sistency in his narrative. The man thus assailed is proved to 
have led a noble and useful life, earning and retaining the re- 
spect of all with M'hom he had relations, not excepting Columbus, 
whom he is accused of having wronged, and who seems to have 
quarreled with every man connected with him or the Western 
lands, saving Amerigo Vespucci only. The following letter is 
sufficient proof of the light in which Columbus regarded 
Amerigo : 

" To MY VERY Dear Son Diego Columbus : 

" My dear son, Diego Mendcz departed from this place on 
Monday, the 3d of this month. After his departure I conversed 
with Amerigo Vespucci, the bearer of this, who has been sum- 
moned to court upon matters of navigation. He has always 
been desirous of pleasing me, and is a very worthy man. For- 
tune has been unpropitious to him, as to many others, and his 
labors have not profited him as much as reason would seem to 
require. He goes for me, and w^itli a great desire to do some- 
thing which may redound to my advantage, if it is in his power. 
I know not here what instructions to give him that will benefit 
me, because I know not what is desired of him there. He goes 
determined to do for me all that is possible. See what can be 
done to advantage there, and labor for it, that he may know and 

*" Vanhagen, who has done more than any one man toward demonstrating the 
injustice which has been done Yespucci, and who has hiboriously collected a vast 
amount of evidence and facts, writes : " Ilerrcra, the chronicler of the West Indies, 
while borrowing nearly literally the Latin text of the ' Cosmograplii.e Introductio ' 
(Vespucci), with all the details, on this first voyage of Yespucci, and knowing that the 
Florentine navigator had accompanied Ojeda in 1499, thought this must have been 
the first voyage made by the former. In this belief he changed the date (1497) to 
1499, and when he saw that the Florentine navigator's account began to disagree 
with the fiicts of which he had knowledge by other documents relating to Ojcda's first 
voyage in 1499, he raised the cry of imposture, and accused Yespticci of having con- 
fused every thing on purpose, while it was hc(IIerrera) who was mistaken, and who by 
this mistake was later to lead into error Charlevoix, Robertson, Tiraboschi, and even 
Navarette and Humboldt." — "Analyse Critique de la Yie de Yespuce," p. 94. 



VESPUCCI VINDICATED BY COLUMBUS. 123 

speak of every thing and set things in motion. Let every thing 
be done secretly, that no suspicion may arise. I have said to 
him all that I can say touching this business, and I have in- 
formed him of the payments which have been made to me and 
which are yet to make. This letter is for the adelantado'^ 
(brother of Columbus) ; " also, that he may see wherein he can 
profit and advise him " (Yespucci) " of it, let his majesty believe 
that his ships were in the best and richest part of the Indies, 
and, if any thing further is required than what has been said, I 
will satisfy him by word of mouth, for it is impossible for me to 
tell by writing. May the Lord have you in his holy keeping ! 
"Done at Seville, February 5, 1505. 

" Thy father, who loves thee better than himself, 

" Christopher Columbus." 

If the noble character of Yespucci needed vindication from 
the vile aspersions cast upon him by prejudiced or partial histo- 
rians, the above letter of Columbus should silence further cen- 
sure and complaint ; it bears full testimony to the honorable con- 
duct of the man, while the writer seems most desirous of profit- 
ing by his influence. With slight inconsistency, which will not 
surprise those who have perused the writings of Columbus, in 
the second sentence of his letter he says, " who is called to court 
on matters of navigation ; " a little farther on we read, " He goes 
for me," which would lead us to suppose that Amerigo was called 
to court expressly to further the interests of Columbus. The 
first statement we know to have been the truth. Yespucci left 
Portugal at the instance of the crown of Spain, to take charge 
of an office which was subsequently erected into a department 
of the administration, pertaining to pilotage, navigation, and 
charts. He was to correct the errors carried into the latter by 
the teachings and maps of Columbus and others. Columbus 
had fallen into disgrace on account of his cruelty, the gross mis- 
statements contained in his letters pertaining to his discoveries 
in the West, and the inaccuracy of his charts ; the use of these, 
we have seen, was subsequently prohibited, and a penalty im- 
posed upon the pilot who should sail by them." We do not 

^^ Irving writes (book i., chapter iv.) : " When the passion for maritime discovery 
was seeking aid to facilitate its enterprises, the knowledge and skill of an able cos- 
mographer, like Columbus, would be properly appreciated, and the superior correct- 



124 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

here propose to raise tlie veil of secrecy which Columbus in his 
letter seeks to cast upon a matter public in its character, of 
which it was his duty to speak and write frankly to the sovereign 
who had employed him ; honesty does not thus shun the light. 
All this deceit is very different from the conduct of Amerigo, 
who in one of his letters thus excuses himself for not writing 
more in detail : " Much more have I diligently noted down in a 
pamphlet in which I have described this voyage, and which is 
now in the hands of his majesty, who I hope will return it to 
me shortly." 

It is worthy of note that Yespucci was not summoned as a 
witness by the heirs of Columbus in their memorable lawsuit 
against the crown. Friend as he was, we have reason to believe 
he knew too much of the demerits of the claims set up, and 
of matters pertaining thereto, which Columbus desired to have 
kept secret. Those who write in the interest of Columbus, and 
ag^ainst Yespucci, have represented the latter as soliciting the 
above letter for the purpose of introducing himself favorably at 
court, and thence affect to believe that Yespucci was a very ob- 
scure and unimportant individual. If we could for a moment 
believe that Amerigo either needed or desired the letter for 
such a purpose, we are frank to admit that his condition was 
low indeed ; it was written at a period when Columbus had sunk 
to the greatest depth of degradation ; five years before (and his 
condition had in all respects continued to grow more desperate 
. to the day of his death), he writes : " I have now reached that 
point that there is no man so vile but thinks it his right to 
insult me. ... If I were to build churches or hospitals, they 
would call them caves for robbers." 

The time and place of Columbus's nativity remain undeter- 
mined, there is no genuine portrait of him ; but about the coun- 
try, family, and person of Amerigo, there is no dispute; his por- 
trait and statues arc placed among the household gods, even in 
the abodes of the humble in the Old AYorld. As the children 
of the United States recognize the portrait of Washington, so do 
those of Italy that of the discoverer of America. 

ness of his maps and charts would give him notoriety among men of science." From 
the facts which we have recorded above, it is evident that the government of Castile 
did not concur in the estimate of Mr. Irving touching the value of Columbus and his 
charts. 



VESPUCCI WISE AND GOOD. 125 

Vespucci injured none. He did not imagine or pretend to 
imagine himself in Asia when in America, as did Cohimbus ; 
though many have sought to make him participate in the error 
of the latter, we have his own words to prove how just were his 
ideas upon the subject. In one of his letters he says : " These 
regions . . . which it is legitimate to call the New \Yorld ; " and 
again, elsewhere : " Most of the ancients say that beyond the 



PoETEAiT OF Vespucci. — (From an Original Painting from Life.) 

equinoctial line toward the south there is no continent, but only 
sea, which they called Atlantic, and those w^ho say that there is 
land say that it cannot be inhabited ; this opinion is erroneous, 
as my last navigation has shown, for I have found in this conti- 
nent people and animals as in our Europe or Asia or AfricaP 
He thus makes distinct mention of the four quarters of the 
globe, as they are now recognized. Here, then, is another plea 



126 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

in favor of the name America." Columbus, to the last, whether 
through ignorance or willful deceit, persisted in declaring his dis- 
coveries to be India, Asia, the territories of the Grand-Khan. 
How could his name be given to countries already well known 'i 
or how could he be said to discove?' Asia, India, which liad occu- 
pied so large a space in the world's history for unnumbered ages ? 

Amerigo's knowledge of astronomy and cosmography was 
much more profound than that of Columbus, who, indeed, at 
times appears ridiculously ignorant, and who, notwithstanding 
his novel theory that the world is 2:>ear-8hap€d^ is represented in 
all works written upon the subject, from the child's picture- 
book to the graver history, as revealing to a hitherto ignorant 
civilization the "startling theory of the sphericity of the earth." 

Yespucci does not seem to consider this doctrine of sphericity 
in the light of a strange or novel teaching ; he draws the globe to 
illustrate his travels over a quarter of its circumference, and to 
show the relative position of the new lands with the old, but 
makes no such explanation as one naturally would when speak- 
ing of a new and " startling " theory. 

History says that Columbus was the favorite of Isabella, 
though disliked by Ferdinand, while Amerigo was the latter's 
favorite mariner. This being an almost universal opinion, the 
same reasons which we have already cited as causing the com- 
parative unpopularity of Ferdinand and popularity of Isabella 
may also be made to account for the ideas generally conceived 
of their supposed respective favorites. The Spanish authors, 
who so virulently attack Yespucci, wrote for the Church to which 
Isabella was professedly devoted. Pope Alexander YI,, a Span- 
iard, deeded the Continent of America to Castile ; the clergy 
ever sought to glorify Columbus ; Isabella favored him until his 
faithlessness and cruelty made it impolitic if not impossible lon- 
ger to protect him. Ferdinand, whose power as King of Aragon 
was not so great as that of Isabella of Castile, unwilling to trust 
the adventurer Columbus, but judging nevertheless that an ex- 
pedition in search of these lands might be profitable, sought 

'^ Mr. Irving appends a note, relating to this matter, to his notice on Yespucci, in 
which he says : " The first suggestion of the nauie appears to have been in the Latin 
work already cited, published in St.-Diez, in Lorraine, in 1507, in which was inserted 
the letter of Vespucci to King Ren6. The author, after speaking of the otlier three 
parts of the world, Asia, Africa, and Europe, recommends that the fourth shall be 
called Amerige or America, after Vespucci, whom he imagined its discoverer." 



VESPUCCI AND FERDINAND. 



127 ^ 



Amerigo, whose integrity inspired even the suspicious monarcli 
with confidence. But it was necessary that the expeditions should 
be so quietly conducted as not to assume the aspect of rivaling 
those of Castile. It is probable, moreover, that the sagacity of 
Ferdinand, as well as the wisdom of Vespucci, prompted them 
to prosecute their discoveries in an unostentatious manner ; they 
may have been strengthened in this wise resolve by having wit- 
nessed the sorry exhibition made up of a few naked savages 
bearing parrots on their shoulders, with which Columbus sought 
to challenge tlie admiration of the Spaniards, but which merely 



ZENIT NOSTRO 




VESprcci's Illustration of the Sphericitt of the Earth. 

succeeded in exciting derision, for at the time too many adven- 
turers, who had listened to his golden falsehoods, had returned 
to their native land broken in health, ruined in fortune, sadder 
and wiser men, to tell a tale of deluded hopes, want, disaster, and 
despair. 

We are constantly told that the weight of authority is on the 
side of Columbus ; but how can the ardent seeker of truth, and 
truth only, fail to be discouraged when he finds how partial is 
the testimony in the case ? Las Casas informs us that in all that 
relates to the discoveries in the New AYorld the most worthy of 



128 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



credit is Peter Martyr of Anghieri; that whatever he relates 
respecting these discoveries was recorded in accordance with the 
accounts given by the admiral himself. Columbus thus becomes 
his own historian and eulogist, laying down the law by which 
the claims of all others are to be judged. lie would naturally 
present his own side of the case, and, from what his writino-s 
lead us to suppose, would not scruple to slander those whose 
opinions or statements diftcred from his, or M'ho had opposed 
any of his measures. 




Triumph of Ameriuo. 



Here, then, is an impartial testimony ! To the glory of Co- 
lumbus, a nation's history is prostituted, her great men ignored, 
her true benefactors assailed. Like the brazen image of Nebu- 
chadnezzar, he is raised on high to be worshiped, and all who 
will not bow the knee must perish. Yot all the efforts of his 
enemies will not wrest the laurel from the brow of Amerigo. 
America is the name given hy the solemn verdict of a world to a 
continent. It is a goodly name ; like the laws of the Medes and 
Persians, it alters not ; it shall not pass away until the heavens 
shall be wrapped together as a scroll, and the earth shall melt 
with fervent heat, and the angel M'ho stood upon the sea and upon 
the earth shall proclaim that time shall be no longer ! 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CONTEMPORAKIES OF COLTOIBUS — (^CONTESTUED). 
PINZON— CABOT— CABRAL. 

It would be impossible fairly to judge Cohimbus and Lis 
contemporaries without briefly noticing some of the most meri- 
torious and notable of the latter, who, though less renowned than 
Vespucci, are well worthy a place beside him, and above Co- 
lumbus. 

Maetest Alonzo and Vincent Yanez Pinzon were among 
the most deserving and worse maligned of these. It appears to 
have been the spirit of history to lessen the fame of the eminent 
navigators contemporaneous with Columbus, that he may appear 
preeminent. It seems sad to us that those who first visited the 
shores of our continent should occupy so small a space in history ; 
that while many ignore even the names of Cabot and Cabral, and 
regard Vespucci as an impostor, Columbus should be styled by 
every school-boy the discoverer of America ; it seems sad, we say, 
yet these wrongs appear as just when compared with the ingrati- 
tude of which the Pinzons have been the victims — the Pinzons, 
the life-blood of the first expedition of this very Columbus, who 
climbed to notoriety by means of their purse and good-will, and 
of one of whom he afterward speaks with the little-mindedness 
which characterized the man, as "one Pinzon," of whom he 
seems to preserve but a vague recollection. 

When Columbus entered Spain, friendless, penniless, leaving 
behind him a history of piracy and crime which would cause all 
who knew, to distrust him, he first arrived at Palos, a little town, 
scarce more than a village, situated near the sea ; he begged at 
the gates of the Convent de la Rabida for bread and lodging for 
himself and child. The prior ministered to his wants, and to 
this friar, Juan Perez by name, Columbus imparted the informa- 



130 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

tion he had received of there being certain lands to tlic west of 
the Canaries. Juan Perez introduced the wayfarer to the Pin- 
zons, the first family of the place, men noted for their courage 
and nautical skill. Martin Alonzo, head of the family, listened 
with interest to the tale of Columbus, the more so as he also, 
during a visit to Rome, had heard rumors of the existence of 
these lands ;" indeed, many seem to have suspected it, for among 
the Spanish state papers is a letter from Don Pedro de Ayala, 
dated 1498, in which he states that the merchants of Bristol had 
for seven years been sending out ships for the discovery of the 
island of Brazil, thus running back to a period more than a year 
anterior to the first voyage of Columbus. 

During his conversation with Martin Alonzo, Columbus 
stated his desire to visit the court of Spain and solicit ships and 
the funds necessary for an expedition to reach and conquer these 
lands, but he was lacking wardrobe, money, and influence. Mar- 
tin Alonzo provided him with the first two necessaries, and Juan 
Perez with the third, in the shape of a letter to Fernando de Ta- 
lavera, confessor to the queen. After a lapse of several years, 
through these influences, Columbus returned to Palos with an or- 
der from Queen Isabella on the inhabitants of the town for two 
caravels equipped and manned, providing Columbus were to 
defray the expense of a third ; this, of course, he would have been 
unable to do, had not the Pinzons come to his aid, A-^incent Ya- 
nez laying down one million maravedis, which was the eighth 
part of the expense Columbus had boasted he would defray." The 
ships were made ready, but so great was the repugnance of the 
inhabitants of Palos to follow an unknown adventurer across the 
seas in search of distant lands, that the first caravels were scuttled 
and sunk. After they were replaced, Columbus found it impossi- 
ble to persuade the mariners to accompany him. Martin Alonzo, 
who had been absent, now returned ; he and his brother each took 
command of a vessel — Martin Alonzo of the Pinta, Vincent 
Yanez of the Ts'ifia. Wlien the inhabitants of the town saw 
these brave and honest men, whom they loved and respected, 
putting their fortunes and their lives into the enterprise, they 
took courage and came forward with alacrity. Thus Columbus 
owed every thing, in this first exjiedition, to "the brave broth- 

^ See Navarette, " Colecc. Dip.," vol. iii., p. 569. 

" See previous reference; also Irving, " Life of Columbus," book ii., chap. ix. 



THE PINZONS. 131 

ers Pinzon " as they have been most justly termed. When we 
contrast the conduct of these men with that of Columbus, we are 
filled with admiration. While the latter for years refused to un- 
dertake the expedition unless receiving the greatest honors oi- 
emoluments, while sharing none of the expense, and while he 
succeeded in excluding all competitors by obtaining subsequently 
a revocation of the order allowing Spanish subjects to search for 
lands at their own expense for the benefit of the crown, thus 
narrowing the field of discovery, the Pinzons expend money and 
influence, leave their home and the town where their fathers had 
lived respected for generations, apparently without making any 
conditions for reward." With such conduct before us, how can 
we for a moment entertain the idea that Columbus was actuated 
by a desire to promote science, to benefit mankind, or by any 
other motive than cupidity ? 

On the 3d of August, 1492, tlie three ships sailed, the one 
commanded by Columbus, the St. Mary, being the largest and 
finest ; nevertheless, during the whole of the voyage, she was in 
the rear, the Pinta leading, as testified by Columbus's own jour- 
nal. Here, also, ex]:)lodes another popular error founded on the 
untruthfulness of Cohimbus, and those who have sung his praises. 
It is said that the men mutinied, that the rest of the expedition de- 
sired to return to Spain, but were led on and encouraged by the 
constancy of Columbus. Kow, as we have stated above, the St. 
Mary was always in the rear, the others having frequently to lay 
by for her. It is scarcely probable that the Pinta and Is ina would 
have continued thus in advance, had their commanders wished 
to turn back ; besides, according to the testimony of several wit- 
nesses in the celebrated lawsuit of Don Diego Columbus against 
the crown, Columbus himself, after sailing some hundred leagues 
without finding land, wished to return, but was persuaded by the 
Pinzons to continue the voyage ! Although we do not vouch for 
the truth of this testimony, it appears more probable than that 
the Pinzons, who were so greatly interested in the success of the 
expedition, should wish to abandon their projects. 

®* In the testimony in the lawsuit, ah-eady alkided to, it is stated that Martin 
Alonzo stipulated with Columbus for half the profits which should accrue to the lat- 
ter. This may be true, but Columbus's habitual unfaithfulness caused him to ignore 
any such condition ; and, the expedition not being a lucrative one, no claims were 
preferred at the time by the Pinzons, so that the matter remains uncertain. 



132 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Columbus, ignoring the ocean-current "which drifted him 
northward, was sailing out of the track which had been laid 
down for him, when the Pinzons called his attention to this 
northward tendency, and urged him to adopt a more southerly 
course. lie obstinately refused, alleging as a reason that it would 
shake the confidence of his men, and tend to lessen his impor- 
tance, for him to appear uncertain as to where the land lay ; 
nevertheless, as they did not find it, he finally consented to adopt 
a more southerly course, and thus arrived at the island of His- 
paniola, which but for this change of route he would never have 
done. To whom, then, was the credit due, to Columbus or to 
Pinzon ? 

During the consultations with the Pinzons, as to a change of 
route, we read that from time to time maps and charts were con- 
sulted, by which Columbus was sailing. One of these was no 
doubt that of Alonzo Sanchez, the dead pilot, of whom yve shall 
speak elsewhere, and from whom it is more than probable Co- 
lumbus received nearly all his information regarding lands in the 
West. 

After reaching the Caribi islands, by the route indicated by 
the Pinzons, Columbus declared he would have followed that 
course from the beginning had he not been told that the land lay 
from north to south aavss his track ; he thus demonstrated him- 
self that the voyage was based upon information received, and 
in no wise upon his own studies, conjectures, or knowledge. A 
reward of ten thousand maravedis annuity had been offered by 
the king and queen to the man who should first discover land. 
On board the Pinta, which, as we have said, was generally ahead 
of the two other vessels, there w\as an old mariner, Roderigo de 
Triana by name, who had long served under Martin Alonzo. 
The latter was evidently much attached to him, so much so that 
he wished him to obtain the above reward, and arranged in such 
sort that he should have every opportunity for doing so. In due 
time Poderigo declared land to be in sight, and the Pinta fired 
her gun as a signal. Columbus, when it was ascertained that 
the alarm was not a false one, stated that he had seen a light on 
the previous evening, and had ^??'/ivr^<'Z// spoken of it to Peter 
Gutierrez, groom of the chamber to the king. Xone of his crew 
were aware of the fact or had seen the light, and Columbus had 
made no demonstration ; moreover, his ship being at that time 



TRIANA DEFRAUDED BY COLUMBUS. 133 

far in the rear, it is less than probable that such was the case. 
Columbus, however, did not scruple to despoil the old mariner 
of his well-earned reward, and we read in Herrera : " But their 
majesties declared that the reward of ten thousand maravedis 
annuity belonged to the admiral, and it was always paid him at 
the shambles of Seville, because he saw a light amid darkness, 
meaning the spiritual light that was then coming into those bar- 
barous people." " 

Roderigo de Triana, after this warning that he should put no 
v-'onfidence in princes, disgusted at the injustice of the " admi- 
ral " and his sovereigns, left his country and turned Turk." 

While at Hispaniola, Columbus lost his ship, and was taken 
on board the Nifia, commanded by Yincent Yanez. Martin 
Alonzo sailed round the island, desiring to obtain a knowledge 
of the country. Columbus, when excusing himself to Ferdinand 
and Isabella for not bringing back as much gold as he had prom- 
ised, ascribed his failure to this so-called desertion on the part 
of Pinzon, whom he declared to have been insubordinate. 
Martin Alonzo, who had so nobly befriended Columbus in ad- 
versity, was thus maligned by him, and through his unjust accu- 
sation forbidden to appear at court ; his pride must have been 
deeply wounded, but it is probable that the ingratitude of 
Columbus touched him still more keenly. He died, it is said, 
broken-hearted at Palos, shortly after his return. He deserved 
a better fate. 

Yincent Yanez soon after fitted out an expedition of four 
fine ships at his own expense,^® took with him two sons of 
Martin Alonzo, and sailed west till he discovered Brazil, three 
months before Cabral in May, 1500, accidentally reached its 
shores. 

Charles Y. raised the family of the Pinzons to nobility or 
hidalguia, and gave them an escutcheon, on which are seen four 
caravels and the motto arrogated to Columbus : 

" A Castilla y a Leon, 
Nuevo Mundo dio Pinzon." 

*^ Herrera, " West Indies," vol. i., chapter xii., Stevens's translation. 

*'' Navarette, " Colecc. Dip," vol. iii. 

®* When a private individual could do this, the absurdity of the statement con- 
tained in most works on the subject, that Isabella pawned her jewels to raise the 
necessary funds for equipping the three little caravels forming the first expedition, 



134 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

This is substantially all that is recorded of thePinzons : His- 
tory passes li<^htlj over their names, but Fate seems to have 
made all the reparation in her power; for, while the family of 
Columbus, which, so far as regards name or fame, began with 
him, has long since become extinct, the worthy Pinzons still 
flourish in their numerous descendants, who have perpetuated the 
virtues as well as the name of their illustrious ancestors, and on 
many of whose houses in the little towns of Palos and Moguer, 
to which they have remained faithful, the escutcheon (the only 
reward received by these noble and enterprising men from their 
sovereign) is still emblazoned. 

Jonx Cabot was possibly the first modern discoverer of 
America ; of his birthplace we have no certain information, but 
we know that he was by adoption, if not by birth, a citizen of 
Venice, for we find in the archives of that city an act dated 
March 29, l-iOO, by which the senate unanimously grants deniza- 
tion to Zuan Caboto, which act states that citizenship is granted 
him " as usual within and without for fifteen years ; " we may, 
therefore, infer that he was of Venetian birth, as it was not usual 
to grant citizenship to foreigners residing in foreign countries, 
while it had been customary to grant it to citizens proposing to 
make a long sojourn abroad. Moreover, in the second license 
granted him by Henry VH., he is styled " Kabotto Venician." 
He had evidently, however, resided some time at Bristol in Eng- 
land, when the above act of citizenship was passed, and in 1497 
Henry VH. granted him a license authorizing him and his heirs 
and assigns to make search for islands, provinces, or regions in 
the Eastern, Western, or IS^orthern seas, and to occupy such ter- 
ritories as vdssals of the English king, paying him one-fifth of 
the profits on merchandise. With this charter John Cabot, in 
1497, embarked with one vessel, and sailed west seven hundred 
leagues. The particulars of this voyage and the impressions it 
created at the time are interestingly preserved to us in a letter 
by one Lorenzo Pasqualigo, Venetian merchant in London, to his 
brother in Venice, which is found in the archives of that city. 

Lorenzo writes : " The Venetian, our countryman, who went 
with a ship from Bristol, in quest of new islands, is returned, and 
says that seven hundred leagues hence he discovered land, the 

and which, as we have seen, were provided solely at the expense of the Pinzons and 
people of Palos, becomes apparent. 



JOHN CABOT. 135 

territory of the Grand-Khan" {Gram Cam). "He coasted for 
three hundred leagues, and landed ; saw no human beings, but 
he has brought hither to the king certain snares which had been 
set to catch game, and a needle for making nets ; he also found 
some felled trees, wherefore he supposed there were inhabitants, 
and returned to his ship in alarm. 

" He was three months on the voyage, and on his return he 
saw two islands to starboard, but would not land, time being 
precious, as he was short of provisions. He says that the tides 
are slack, and do not flow as they do here. The King of Eng- 
land is much pleased with this intelligence. 

" The king has promised that in spring our countryman shall 
have ten ships armed to his order, and at his request has conceded 
to him all prisoners, except such as are confined for high-treason, 
to man his fleet. The king has also given him money where- 
with to amuse himself till then, and he is now at Bristol with his 
wife, who is also a Venetian, and with his sons. His name is 
Zuan Cabot, and he is styled the great admiral. Vast honor is 
paid him ; he dresses in silk, and these English run after him 
like mad people, so that he can enlist as many of them as he 
pleases, and a number of our own rogues besides. The discov- 
erer of these places planted on his new-found land a large cross, 
with one flag of England and another of St. Mark, by reason of 
his being a Venetian, so that our banner has floated very far 
afield. 

" London, Axigust 23, 1497." 

The promise of ten ships above alluded to is restricted in the 
second license granted by the king on February 3, 1498, to six 
English vessels, which Cabot has authority to impress, as also to 
enlist companies of volunteers. According to Lorenzo, he would 
not have much difficulty in doing this. Nevertheless it does not 
appear that John Cabot made any voyage under this license, 
nothing further of him being recorded ; neither the date nor place 
of his death is known, and we are in equal ignorance as to his 
age. It is generally supposed that Newfoundland was that upon 
which he first touched in 1497, yet the description, he gives of 
the country and of the animals therein leads us to suppose that 
Labrador must have been the main-land of which he speaks. We 
know, however, that he coasted three hundred leagues south- 
ward, and most probably visited Newfoundland also. Columbus, 
10 



136 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

on his own showing, only visited the continent four months 
later. 

Purchas says with some justice that these lands should rather 
have been called Cabotta. However that may be, tlie merit of 
priority seems to rest between Cabot and Amerigo Yespncci, as 
they both touched the continent in the same year ; but, as the lat- 
ter prosecuted his discoveries in a more scientific spirit and to a 
greater extent, the name which the land now bears may be re- 
garded as a just tribute. Mr. Irving, who, like many extrava- 
gant admirers of Columbus, would at all cost annihilate the 
claims of Vespucci, admits, in his endeavors to do so, the justice 
of those of Cabot, and confounding the son Sebastian, who took 
]iart in the expedition wath the fother, John Cabot, writes: "In 
fact, the European who first reached the main-land of the New 
World was most probably Sebastian Cabot, a native of Venice, 
sailing in the employ of England. In 1497 he coasted its shores 
from Labrador to Florida." 

Sebastian Cabot was probably twenty years of age when he 
accompanied his father on the voyage of 1497. Much might be 
written of the character and achievements of this naviirator. 
The wisdom and moderation which governed most of his un- 
dertakings stand out in relief against the barbarous deeds of 
many who attempted the disco\'ery, conquest, and settlement of 
America. 

The English authorities claim that Sebastian was born at 
Bristol, while the Venetians are equally anxious to prove him 
their compatriot by birth as well as parentage. The question, 
however, still remains undetermined. In 1498 he sailed with 
two ships, under the patent granted him jointly with his father, 
for the purpose of discovering the northwest passage. He sailed 
so far north that in the middle of July the daylight was almost 
continuous, and the numerous icebergs compelled him to change 
his course ; in so doing, he touched upon the Continent of Amer- 
ica, and perhaps upon Newfoundland. He sailed along the coast 
of the continent until he reached the latitude of Gibraltar, when 
he returned to England — disappointed that the object of his 
voyage had not been effected, and regarding his important dis- 
coveries as of so little moment that he allowed his patent to be- 
come void. Upon the death of Henry VII., he was summoned 
to Spain, to assist at the council for the New Indies ; and in 1518 



SEBASTIAN CABOT. 137 

lie was appointed Pilot-Major of Spain by Charles Y., a circum- 
stance which manifests in how great repute was his skill in navi- 
gation. 

Having failed in his attempt to discover a northwest passage, 
he turned his thoughts upon the possibility of there existing a 
southwestern one, and went in search of the same in 1526. 
During this voyage he arrived at Brazil, sailed up the river La 
Plata, and discovered Paraguay. He remained about three 
years in this country, and then returned to Spain, where he con- 
tinued to exercise his functions of pilot-major until 1548, when 
he was recalled to England ; and a pension granted to him of 
two hundred and fifty marks (£166 13*. 4:d). He was afterward 
requested to return to Spain, but declined. 

He seems to have been much looked up to in England, and 
to have been consulted on the most important questions. Hak- 
luyt writes : " Our merchants perceived the commodities and 
wares of England to be in small request about us and near unto 
us ; and that those merchandises which strangers, in the time 
and memory of our ancestors, did earnestly seek and desire, were 
now neglected, and the price thereof abated, although they be 
carried to their own jDarts ; and all foreign merchandises in great 
account, and their prices wonderfully raised. . . . And, whereas 
at the same time, Sebastian Cabota, a man in those days very 
renowned, happened to be in London, they began first of all to 
deal and consult diligently with him ; and, after much search and 
conference together, it was at last concluded that three ships 
should be prepared and furnished out for search and discovery 
of the l^orthern part of the world, to open a way and passage for 
our men, and for travel to new and unknown lands." ^° 

It was thus that through his influence was organized an expe- 
dition which, rounding the cape of Norway, was to discover a 
northeast passage to China. This expedition, though of course 
unsuccessful in its object, reached Archangel, and established 
trading operations with the Russians, which resulted afterward 
in the formation of the Russian Trading Company, one of Eng- 
land's greatest sources of wealth. 

Charles V. wrote urgently in 1553, requesting that Cabot 
might return to Spain, where his services had been very valu- 
able ; but this he declined, and still continued in England. He 
«» Hakluyt, " Voyages," p. 280. 



138 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

had made the -deviations of the compass a study, and had sought 
to discover the point wliere they should cease. 'We find him 
demonstrating his opinions, and instructing the youtlit'ul King 
Edward on this point. He has, therefore, been styled by some 
the discoverer of the variations of the compass. It is more than 
probable, however, that neither he nor Columbus is entitled to 
this credit, but that the said variations have been noted and com- 
mented upon centuries before tlie birth of either. 

In 1556 Sebastian organized another expedition of discovery, 
of which Stephen Burrough was the commander. In the latter's 
journal we tind the following: " The 2Tth of April, being j\[on- 
day, the Kight Worshipful Sebastian Caboto came aboard our 
Pinnesse at Gravesendc, accompanied with divers gentlemen 
and gentlewomen, who, after that they had viewed our pinnesse, 
and tasted of such cheere as we could make them aboard, they 
went on shore, giving to our mariners right liberal rewards ; and 
the Goode olde Gentleman^ Master Caboto, gave the poor most 
liberale almes ; wishing them to pray for the good fortune and pros- 
perous success of the Serchthrift, our pinnesse. And then, at the 
sign of the Christopher, he and his friends banketted, and made me 
and them that were in the company great cheere. And, for very 
joy that he had to see the towardness of our intended discovery, 
he entered into the dance himself among the rest of the young 
and lusty company ; which, being ended, he and his friends de- 
parted most gently, commending us to the Governance of 
Almighty God." 

On the death of Edward YI., he resigned his pension ; and 
we find little more of this great man recorded in the history of 
the country which he had so greatly served. All that we learn 
of his character inspires us with respect. In Hamusio, he is de- 
scribed thus by one who had seen him : " I found him a most 
gentle and courteous person, who treated me with great kind- 
ness, and showed me a great many things ; among the rest, a 
great map of the world, on which the several voyages of the Por- 
tuguese and Spaniards were laid down." 

Much has been said in extenuation of the cruelty of Colum- 
bus, about the spirit of the times being one of bigotry and intol- 
erance. We find no proof of any such s])irit in the following 
items of the regulations written by Sebastian for the governance 
of Sir Hugh Willoughby's expedition in 1553. The good sense 



WISE INSTRUCTIONS BY CABOT. I39 

tlierein displayed materially increases our admiration for the 
man : 

" 22d item : Not to disclose to any nation the state of our 
religion, but to pass it over in silence, without any declaration 
of it ; seeming to bear with such laws and rights as the place 
hath where you shall arrive. 

" 23d item : Forasmuch as our people and shippe may appear 
unto them strange and wondrous, and theirs, also, to ours — it is 
to be considered how they may be used — learning much of their 
natures and dispositions by some one such person as you may 
first either allure, or take to be brought aboard your ships ; and 
there to learn, as you may without violence or force ; and no 
woman to be tempted or intreated to incontinence or dishon- 
estie. 

"26th item: Every nation and region is to be considered 
advisedly ; and not to provoke them by any disdaine, laughing 
contempt, or such like ; but to use them with prudent circum- 
spection, with all gentlenesse and curtesie. And not to tarry 
long in one place, until you shall have attained the most worthy 
place that may be found ; in such sort as you may return with 
victuals sufficient prosperously." " 

During the last part of his life, and after his death, Sebastian 
Cabot was the victim of great ingratitude on the part of the Eng- 
lish ; on which Mr. Biddle, his most able and exhaustive biog- 
rapher, thus touchingly comments : 

" The English language would probably be spoken in no part 
of America but for Sebastian Cabot. The commerce of England, 
and her navy, are admitted to have been deeply, incalculably, 
his debtors. Yet there is reason to fear that in his extreme age 
the allowance, which had been solemnly granted to him for life, 
was fraudulently broken in upon. His birthplace we have seen 
denied. His fame has been obscured by English writers, and 
every wild calumny against him adopted and circulated. All 
his own maps and discoveries, ' drawn and written by himself,' 
which it was hoped might come out in print, ' because so worthy 
monuments should not be buried in perpetual oblivion,' have 
been buried in perpetual oblivion. He gave a continent to 
England, yet no man can point to the few feet of earth she has 
allowed him in return." 

'» Hakluyt, " Voyages," p. 259. 



140 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

This ingratitude is in great measure traceable to the partiality 
of which Columbus 1ms ever been the object. Sebastian returned 
to England from his discoveries at the time when the famous ne- 
gotiations were taking place for the marriage of Isabella's daugh- 
ter to the Prince of Wales. Henry YIL, crippled by internal 
dissensions, and desirous of obtaining an alliance with Spain, 
abandoned his plans of discovery at the suggestion of its sover- 
eign, as the regions in which they were to be prosecuted were 
alleged to be within the limits of the grant of Pope Alexander to 
Spain." And it was evidently the intention of that country to 
allow no rivals in the field ; policy, therefore, suggested to Henry 
that his wisest course was to desist, and the achievements of 
Sebastian were ignored. 

History seems to have also resolved, with little reason and 
less justice, to allow no rival to Columbus. And it is evident 
that Sebastian Cabot is one of the many victims whose fame has 
been sacrificed to increase that of the former. 

Pedro Alvarez de Cabral, though little mentioned in most 
histories of the discovery of America, was probably one of the 
most intelligent and meritorious of the many adventurers who 
early reached that continent. 

He was born in Portugal, toward the close of the fifteenth 
century. At that time the commerce of the East belonged, so far 
as regarded Europe, entirely to Yenice. Portugal was thus ex- 
cluded, and, desirous of securing to herself this great source of 
wealth, she sent out expeditions for the purpose of ascertaining 
whether, by coasting along the shores of Africa, a route from 
Portugal to India might not be discovered, by which to divert 
for the benefit of Portugal a part at least of the commerce of 
India. The feasibility of this plan had been demonstrated first 
by Bartholemew Diaz and afterward by Yasco de Gama, who in 
1497 rounded the Cape of Good Hope. The King of Portugal, 
animated by this success, manned a fleet of thirteen ships with 
fit and experienced men, and placed them under the command 

■" On the 28th of March, 1496, Ferdinand and Isabella wrote to Do Puebla, their 
ambassador in London, thus : "You write that a person lilte Columbus has come to 
England for the purpose of persuading the king to enter into an undertaking similar 
to that of the Indies. . . . Take care that the King of England be not deceived in this 
or in any other matter. . . . Besides, they "(voyages ofdiscovery)" cannot be executed 
without prejudice to us, and to the King of Portugal." — Spanish Stale Papers. 



OABRAL VISITS BRAZIL. 141 

of Cabral. This fleet was, perhaps, one of the finest sent out at 
that period. There were on board twelve hundred seamen and 
soldiers, besides numerous Franciscan friars, who were to act as 
missionaries in the new settlements to be founded. Cabral with 
justice regarded the coasting voyage effected by Yasco de Gama 
as a tedious and dangerous one, and conceived the idea of the 
present route by taking a southwesterly course till reaching the 
latitude of the cape, thus crossing the ocean twice. It was dur- 
ing this westerly digression that, sailing from the Cape Yerde 
Islands, he came in sight of Brazil, latitude 10° south, on the 3d 
of May, 1500. 

Coasting southward about seven degrees, he took possession 
of the continent in the name of King Emmanuel, of Portugal. 
Brazil remained thereafter a Portuguese possession, notwith- 
standing the Spaniard Yincent Tanez Pinzon had visited its 
shores in the month of January previous. Cabral had with him 
twenty men banished from Portugal, whom he had orders to 
leave in the different regions he discovered, as he thought fit. 
Two of these he left in Brazil ; one of them we read of as having 
become expert in the language of the natives, and acting as in- 
terpreter. 

Cabral now sent one of his ships back to Portugal with the 
news of this discovery, and with the remaining twelve sailed for 
India. "While crossing the cape, he encountered severe storms, 
in one of which he lost four vessels. With the diminished re- 
mains of his once splendid fleet he reached India, touching at 
Mozambique and Calicut, at which latter he made some settle- 
ments and succeeded in establishing a factory ; he then returned 
to Portugal, laden with the rich merchandise of the East. On 
his arrival in his native land he was received coolly by the king, 
owing to the losses he had sustained ; nevertheless these losses 
were attributable to the dangers incurred during the voyage, 
and not to any want of skill or foresight on the part of Cabral, 
who from the evidence we have already cited had proved him- 
self an able seaman, far abler than the much-lauded Columbus, 
who, let it be remembered, generally lost the vessel under his 
own immediate command, even when the others escaped. Ca- 
bral's own vessel weathered all storms. He also proved himself 
the more intelligent of the two on another point. When Colum- 
bus landed in Cuba, he imagined himself within three days' jour- 



142 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

ney of China, and dispatched a messenger with a letter to the 
Grand-Khan, to return in six days! Cabral labored under no 
such delusion, but, after taking possession of the new country in 
his sovereign's name, immediately set sail for his original desti- 
nation (India), in an opposite direction. "We find no mention 
of Cabral after July, 1501, the date of his return to Portugal. He 
has been allowed to sink into semi-oblivion ; nevertheless he was 
incontestably an able man, and deserved more gratitude from his 
sovereign, as well as more notice from posterity. 



CHAPTER IX. 

COLUMBUS — WHO AND WHAT WAS HE? 

The history of most famous men generally and most natu- 
rally begins with the date of their birth, and some particulars as 
to their parentage and birthplace ; but the historian who attempts 
to discover these particulars with regard to Columbus, under- 
takes a long and fruitless task. Volumes might, indeed, be filled 
with an enumeration of the views entertained or professed by 
difierent authors on the subject, but so conflicting and various 
are they that, after reading them, the conscientious author must 
needs disregard them all. 

Monferrat, Bogliasco, Chiavara, Oneglia, Quinto, Albisola, 
I^ervi, Pradello, Cogoleto, Savona, Ferrara, Piacenza, and Genoa, 
have each in their turn been designated as the birthplace of 
Columbus. 

The diverse opinions of contemporary authors are quoted by 
his son Fernando, who declares his inability to decide the ques- 
tion, and, after much apparent research, which amounts in reality 
to nothing, he dismisses the subject as a matter of no impor- 
tance. 

Herrera, after examining many authorities, among others the 
above, does not scruple to affirm that he was born at Genoa, " as 
all who write or treat of him do agree." 

The reader may judge of the degree of credit to which the 
statements of Herrera are entitled after reading the evidence in 
this particular case, and observing the somewhat extraordinary 
conclusion at which he arrives. 

Indeed, the partiality and prejudice evinced by extravagant 
eulogists of Columbus are very apparent in their attempts to de- 
termine the place of his nativity. One author (Salinero) declares 



lU LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

that whoever slioukl deny Genoa the honor of giving birth to 
this incomparable man ought to be regarded as a monster. 

For our part, regarding Columbus as chielly the creation of 
an after-thought, we believe that his birthplace has become the 
subject of invention, even as his exploits and learning have ex- 
isted principally in the imagination of his biographers. A most 
accurate register of births was kept at Genoa, wherein very 
humble and obscure families can be traced back to a period ante- 
rior to Columbus, yet nowhere is his name to be found. We 
believe, therefore, that the honest wool-carder, Dominic Colon, 
who, it is asserted by one kind author, was the father of our 
hero, may be absolved from the charge ; especially as he pursued 
the decidedly terrestrial vocation of wool-carding, while Fer- 
nando tells us, his father's ancestors always " traded by sea," a 
mild term for piracy. 

If the birthplace of " the admiral " is yet unknown, all at- 
tempts to discover whence or from whom he derived his name 
have hitherto been still more fruitless. In vain have some, en- 
deavoring to cast the glamour of noble descent over this created 
hero, sought his parentage among noble families bearing a name 
somewhat similar to that of Columbus. In vain others, wishing 
to make his individual greatness stand out in bolder relief, have 
made him the son of poor and even ignoble parents. There 
being no evidence, no real facts, each author has placed his hero 
in that rank of life which he himself considered most likely to 
give him prestige in the eyes of the world. 

Perhaps, however, with the aid of an historian who certainly 
would not intentionally seek to bring disrepute upon Columbus 
(we speak of his son Fernando), we may be able to cast some 
light upon this hitherto vexed question. 

In the fifth chapter of Fernando's history of his father, we 
find mentioned "a famous man of his name and fomily, called 
Colon, renowned upon the sea, . . . insomuch that they made 
use of his name to frighten children in the cradle. . . . This 
man was called Colon the Younger." 

Here is the unqualified statement of Fernando, that Chris- 
topher was of the name and family of the individual known as 
Colon the Younger. He further states that in company of this 
Colon, a pirate, his father sailed '' for a long time ; " and de- 
scribes an encounter between these pirates and some Flanders 



FLANDERS GALLEYS.— GRIEGO. 145 

galleys, in wliich Christopher barely escaped to Lisbon with his 
life. 

In the archives of Venice are the following particulars rela- 
tive to the same affair, which throw a clearer light upon " the 
name and family " of the " great navigator " than his son is able 
or willing to do. 

By reference to the above authority, we learn that six or 
seven ships, commanded by one called Columbus the Younger, 
and having on board the man now known as Christopher Colum- 
bus, lay off Cape St. Yincent, watching for the arrival of four 
Yenetian merchant-ships, termed Flanders galleys; these they 
attacked on the 21st of August, 1485, and, after much slaughter, 
carried off an immense booty, stripping the officers and crew 
even of their clothing. 

This affair is formally communicated by the Yenetian senate 
to their various ambassadors abroad. The first mention is found 
in a dispatch, dated September 18, 1485, from the doge and 
senate to the ambassador at Milan : 

" The capture of the Flanders galleys by ships commanded 
by a son of Columbus and Giovanni Griego." 

Marin Sanuto, in his MS. "Lives of the Doges," preserved 
in St. Mark's Library, recounting the capture, says : 

" Our galleys fell in with Colombo, that is to say, Nicolo 
GHego^ 

In a decree of the Yenetian senate, December 2, 1485, we 
find: 

" Our Flanders galleys captured by Colombo's son and Zorzi 
Griego." 

Again, in a document, dated April 9, 1486, treating of the 
capture of the galleys : 

"Nicolo Griego, who is called Columbus junior (Colombo 
Zovene)." 

One fact is hereby established beyond a doubt, namely, that 
the Cohmibus junior, Colomho's son, the Colon the Younger men- 
tioned by Fernando, was in fact named Nicolo Griego. "\Ye, 
moreover, gather from the Yenetian documents that three pirates 
Giovanni Griego, Nicolo Griego, and Zorzi Griego, occasionally 
assumed the name of Columbus. That the family name of the 
subject of this history was Griego, is therefore proved by the 
statement of his son, who says that Columbus the Younger " was 



146 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

of his name and family ; " the said Columbus the Younger being 
always spoken of, in tlie Venetian state papers, as Kicolo Griego, 
sometimes called Columhus the Younger. 

Of the two other Griegos mentioned as having taken part 
in the capture of the galleys, one was probably the father indi- 
cated in the allusion to Colombo's son, and the name Colon the 
Younger ; the other was undoubtedly our Christopher, who, his 
son tells us, sailed a long time with Colon the Younger (Nicolo 
Griego), and assisted in the said capture of the galleys. He was 
then of the name and family of Griego, and sometimes adopted 
the alias of Columbus, as did his kinsmen ; imder this alias^ 
thenceforth to become his name, he came to Spain. It was 
probably not till he had formed the pious project of obtaining 
the protection of the Church by representing himself as the 
Christ-bearer, carrying the Gospel across the waters to heathen 
nations, that he changed his name of Giovanni or Zorzi, to that 
of Christopher, on the peculiar significance of which his son 
dwells at such length in his first chapter (from which we shall 
presently quote) naively avowing, however, that the particu- 
lars of his name and surname are not without some mystery ; 
and elsewhere, speaking of the falseness of the statements made 
by Giustiniani, touching Columbus's parentage and early pur- 
suits, he says: "If Giustiniani tells so many lies concerning 
things well known" (his discoveries, etc.), " it is not likely that 
he would tell the truth concerning the admiral's parents and 
profession, all particulars concerning which are hidden.''^ . 

"Whether the mystery which hung as a cloud over the many 
years of Columbus's life previous to his relations with the Span- 
ish court, was known to the son, who, well aware how charitably 
it covered a multitude of sins, was unwilling to remove it, or 
whether, which is far from probable, he was really ignorant of 
the facts which the Yenetian state papers reveal," we shall not 
here attempt to decide, nor can we be certain that Griego was 

" Fernando, who in his preface, in which he dechircs all former histories of his 
father to be incorrect, promises unreserved frankness and sincerity, does not in his 
worlc fulfill this promise. He was, for years after the death of his father, in daily in- 
tercourse with his uncles Bartholomew and Diego. Why did he not ask them touch- 
ing the name and family of this "incomparable" father, whom he modestly declares 
to be " worthy of eternal memory ? " They were certainly competent to reveal the 
particulars which are " hidden." He evidently knew the history of which he profess- 
es ignorance, and knew also that mystery was the safest shroud. 



AGE OF COLUMBUS. 14Y 

the real name of any of the worthies who bore it. There is no 
mention of their being Italians ; for aught we know they may 
have been Greek pirates, known in Italy, where the people are 
so apt to give significant titles by the name of their country 
only. Certain it is that Griego was the name most univer- 
sally known, for we read "Nicolo Griego, sometimes called 
Columbus ; " while, if the latter had been the name in most fre- 
quent use, it would be Columho, sometimes called Nicolo GriegoP 

As to the date of Columbus's birth, authors generally assert 
that it was about the year 1445 or 1446. We think, however, that, 
from motives easily discernible, they have abridged his career, 
and that fifteen or twenty years earlier would have been a more 
correct date. 

The son, unable or unwilling to account for the period of his 
life which preceded 1485, was naturally desirous to make that 
period as short as possible, belie'V'ing no doubt thirty years are 
more easily bridged over than fifty. 

It is very safe to suppose that Columbus was fifty years of 
age, at least, at the time of the capture of the galleys, his ille- 
gitimate son Fernando (reported to be his younger son) pro- 
fessed to have witnessed the fitting out of the galleys, and to 
have been old enough to judge of their strength, etc.'* He 
moreover, tells us that his father was a light-haired man, and 
that at thirty his hair was quite white. This would be a physi- 
ological phenomenon, it being well known that light or sandy- 
haired people do not usually become gray until very late. 

Ferdinand then tells us that his father was educated at Pavia, 
but the details already revealed as to his real name and antece- 
dents render this improbable. 

"We are then told, on the same authority, that he early began 
a seafaring life, and made some voyages " to the East and "West, 
of which, and many other things of those his first days, I " (Fer- 
nando) " have no perfect knowledge." " The delightful vagueness 

'* In addition to the above array of names, we find other authors declaring that he 
was known by, or confused with the names of, Ouilhume de Cassenewve, surnamed 
Conlomp, Conlon, or Colon, whom history records as a pirate, while in English 
works it has been surmised that Christopher Columbus and Christofre Colyns were 
identical, not to mention the appellation of Christofer Taiiher (dove) by which we find 
him designated in German works. 

'■* See Fernando, " Historia del Amirante," chapter v. 

''^ It is singular that, while giving the details of his father's youth and education. 



148 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



of this allusion to voyages to the East and West is not mnch 
elucidated by the letter of Columbus to the Spanish sovereigns, 
in which he modestly extols his own knowledge in the following 
terms : 

" Most Serene Peinces : I went to sea very young, and have 
continued it to this day, ... it is now forty years that I have 
been sailing to all those parts at present frequented, . . . and 
our Lord has been favorable to this my inclination, and I have 
received from Ilim the spirit of understanding. He has made 
me very skillful in navigation ; knowing enough in astrology ; 




Columbus draws his Map under Divine Inspiration. — Cuba in Asia. 



and so in geometry and arithmetic. God has given me genius, 
and hands apt to draw this globe ; and on it the cities, rivers, 
islands, and all parts, in their proper places." 

This modest panegyric of himself, in which the Almighty is 
represented as having exempted him from the usual laborious 
course of study by which the sciences he alludes to are ordinarily 
acquired by less favored mortals, does not contain the details or 

he should be thus ipnorant of the events of his adult life ; but the good old adage is 
here illustrated : " Where ignorance is bliss, 'twere foHy to be wise." 



SLAVE-TEADE. 149 

particulars of any one voyage, nor are such details to be found in 
any authority of the period. It is not probable that a navigator 
who had visited all the known parts of the world would have 
been so utterly ignored by his contemporaries. 

That he led a seafaring life we are ready to believe. His 
son tells us his being addicted to sea-affairs was owing to the 
pirate of his name and family (Nicolo Griego), Colon the Youn- 
ger. In the profession of piracy he most probably infested 
those seas where the richest booty was to be captured, the chief 
of which was the Mediterranean. We need not say that such a 
life is not particularly inducive to study, and that its votaries 
are not generally inclined to deep thought. For fifty years, 
.almost the natural period of man's life, Columbus could scarce 
have entertained the slightest idea of making voyages of dis- 
covery, or of visiting the Indies ; what accident subsequently 
induced him, in his latter years, to propose the project, we shall 
presently state. 

He speaks of a voyage, made for the King of Naples, to cap- 
ture a certain ship. This voyage is not improbable — sovereigns 
sometimes employed pirates in affairs of like nature — but the 
principal fact upon which he dwells in recounting it is, that he 
" changed the points of the compass " and deceived his men : 
" So at break of day we found ourselves near Cape Cartegna, all 
aboard thinking we had certainly been sailing for Marseilles." 

This boast furnishes a clew to the whole character of the man ; 
falsehood and deceit are ever, we shall find, its most prominent 
traits. 

As to the voyage he professes to have made, " an hundred 
leagues beyond Thule " (Iceland), " whose southern part is seven- 
ty-three degrees distant from the equinoctial," we have but his 
own authority, while all the probabilities are against it. A pirate 
would find little to induce him to such an undertaking, the booty 
to be captured being much inferior to that abounding in the 
Mediterranean. He does not give any reasons for such a voy- 
age, nor mention the ship he sailed in, or the port he sailed from ; 
he gives nothing, in fact, but the most vague assertions. All con- 
temporary writers, state papers, etc., are silent upon the subject, 
when less important matters are recorded. 

For some years, it is unknown at what precise period, Colum- 
bus was eno-ao^ed in the Guinea slave-trade — in which he sub- 



150 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



sequently showed himself such an adept with regard to the 
unfortunate Indians — as well to deserve the compliment paid 
him by Mr, Helps, who calls his proceedings and plans worthy 
" of a practised slave-dealer." '* 

That he was long addicted to piracy ; that he was of the 
name and family of one Xicolo Griego ; that he was past the 




•5- A .y. 
ypoFLKlUS. 

Columbus. — (From a Picture in tlie Biblioth^quo Imperiale, Paris.) 

prime of life in 1485, is, therefore, really all that can be gathered 
of the history of Christopher Columbus previous to that date. 
Those who propose to furnish this Griego with honest parents of 
the name of Columbus in Genoa, or any other place, undertake 

" Uelps, " History of Columbus," chap, x., p. 191. 



NO PORTRAIT OF COLUMBUS. 151 

a task as bootless as that of tracing back the hneage of the nu- 
merous family of doves, which flourish in the Place St. Mark in 
Venice, to the fugitive dove of Noah. 

The reader has now seen how much the imagination of the 
various biographers of " the admiral" has been taxed to supply 
the circumstances of his birth and parentage. It is not, there- 
fore, extraordinary to find that, in that other important task of 
describing the personal appearance of their hero, imagination has 
also played its part. 

The several likenesses of Columbus engraved in this work, 
taken from his numerous histories and biographies, purport each 




Bust of Colttmbits at Genoa. 



to be a copy " of the only original portrait of Columbus ; " and 
from the resemblance they bear each other one would scarce sup- 
pose them to represent the same man. Indeed, it is admitted 
that, although living in an age when portrait-painting was uni- 
versal, and when the features of most men of any note, and of 
many persons of humble rank, were thus handed down to pos- 
terity, Columbus appears to have been too insignificant for any 
country to have desired his likeness: those who have created the 



11 



152 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

hero, liavG also invented the portraits. This subject received a 
thoroufjjh examination a few years ago, when a monument was 
about to be ei'ected in Genoa to the memory of the navigator. 

" It was wished," says Spotorno, " and very properly, that a 
likeness of the navigator should grace the monument. . . . There 
are several portraits of him, hut not one of them resemhles an- 
other. . . . No one can flatter himself that Sjyain can jyi'oduce a 
true ])ortrait of Columbus. . . . "What, therefore, are we to con- 
clude? We must adopt the conclusion of Prof. Marsand ; after 
observing the difference between the various supposed portraits 
of Petrarch, not one resembling another, he says : ' Therefore 
they are all false ; if they had been taken from life, they must 
have preserved more or less the original features, as in the case 
of Dante.' For these weighty reasons the sculptor, in execut- 
ing the bust, was bound to copy none of the portraits hitherto 
published.'* 

The pertinence of the above remarks, and the soundness of 
the conclusions to which they may have led, must be manifest to 
all who have studied these pretended portraits or their history. 
We have seen many; some published in Spain, some in Italy, 
others in England and America, in none of which is it possible 
to detect the least resemblance, except in those few that arc 
copies of a fictitious original. These reproductions are rarely 
seen, save in England and America. The European publisher 
seems to have preferred the status of inventor to that of copy- 
ist; hence each created for himself a new and original portrait 
of the navigator, as unlike the other " originals" as could well 
be conceived. 

Fernando, in symbolizing the person of his sire, makes no 
allusion to any painted or sculptored semblance of him ; had 
there been any, he surely would have said that they did or did 
not resemble him. 

In struggling on, without the aid of a painter, he says his 
visage was long, his eyes were white, he had a hawk nose ; others 
say his hair was red, and that he had a pimpled foce." That which 
has come down to us touching his person is not calculated to 
make a favorable impression upon the mind of the physiologist. 

The supernatural far more than the real has ever been the 
mainstay of Columbus's eulogists. Fernando, one of the first, and 
" Fernando, " Historia del Amirante," chapter iii. 



COLUMBUS AS THE CHRIST-BEARER. 



153 



M. De Lorgues, one of the last of his historians, may be said to 
be the two extremes which meet and rival each other in their 
mystic interpretations, and in ascribing miraculous and divine 
attributes to their hero. 

Fernando thus admirably accounts for the assumed name of 
Christopher Columbus, and gives us an insight into the motives 
which induced its bearer to adopt it : 




COXTJUBUS EEPEE8ENTED AS THE ChEIST-BEAEEB. 

"We may mention many names which were given by secret 
impulse to denote the effect those persons were to produce, as 
in his are foretold and expressed the wonder he performed. 
For if we look upon the common surname of his ancestors, we 
may say he was true Columbus, or Columba, forasmuch as he 
conveyed the grace of the Holy Ghost into that New World, 



154 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



which he discovered, showiDg those people, who knew him not, 
which was God's Son, as the Holy Ghost did in the figure of a 
dove at St. John's baptism ; and because he also carried the 
olive-branch and oil of baptism over the waters of the ocean, 
like Noah's dove, to denote the peace and union of those people 
with the Church, after they had been shut up in the ark of dark- 
ness and confusion. And the surname of Colon, which he re- 
vived, was proper to him, which in Greek signifies a memler^ 
that his proper name being Christopher, it might be known he 
was a member of Christ, by whom salvation was to be conveyed 
to those people. 




Methods oi- < onvkutino tiik Inkians.— (From T^sCasas's "Crudelltates ITispanonim in Indiis 

patrat;p.") 

"Moreover, if wc would brine: his name to the Latin pro- 
nunciation, that is, Christophorus Colonus, we may say that as 
St. Christopher is reported to have borne that name because he 
carried Christ over the deep waters with great danger to himself, 
whence came the denomination of Christopher, and, as he con- 
veyed over the people whom no other could have been able to 
carry, so the Admiral Christophorus Colonus, imploring the as- 
sistance of Christ in that dangerous passage, went over safe him- 
self and his company, that those Indian nations might become 



CANT AND CEUELTY. 155 

citizens and inhabitants of the Church triumphant in heaven ; 
for it is to be believed that manj souls which the devil expected 
to make a prey of, had they not passed through the water of 
baptism, were hy Mm made inhabitants and dwellers in the 
eternal glory of heaven." 

AVhatever may be the deficiencies of Don Fernando as a 
logical writer, he has an unfailing resource in his piety. In every 
difficulty he can bring religion to his aid, and find a special 
Providence, " some secret impulse," in matters which to minds 
less favored have a somewhat ugly look. Columbus, he shows 
us, was entitled to all his names and to all his changes (he is 
wisely silent on the Griego question, as it would be difficult to 
find a holy meaning in that word). Throughout the history of 
this man, particularly as written by his son, fanaticism and hy- 
pocrisy are forever fathering the crimes of man upon the be- 
neficence and justice of Heaven, converting into special provi- 
dence and mysterious intention, deeds which, when related in 
plain language, are denominated as infamous by every honorable 
mind. 

The peace which Columbus bore the hapless Indians was the 
peace of the grave ; his olive-branch the scourge, the cruel tor- 
tures which drove them to that bourn ; while the souls thus res- 
cued from the hands of the devil were the descendants of coimt- 
less generations of souls which, according to the miserable logic 
of Fernando, a beneficent God had left wholly in the power of 
the arch-enemy of man. 



CHAPTER X. 

SOURCE WHENCE COLTJilBUS DERIVED THE INF0R3IATI0N WHICH 
INDUCED HIM TO UNDERTAKE 1113 VOYAGES. 

Although tlie Mstoiy of Columbus after 1485 is not so per- 
fectly veiled in obscurity as it is up to that period, yet we shall find 
it any thing but succinct or clear, owing chiefly to the systematic 
attempt to mislead as to dates and facts ; which is most palpable 
in Fernando's history, and in all other histories which have been 
more or less influenced by it. An attempt is constantly made to 
carry hack^ as fiir as possible, the period at which Columbus first 
formed the project of a Western voyage. 

Fernando tells us that his father's coming to Lisbon was the 
cause of his discovering the Indies ; also, that he came to Lisbon 
after the piratical assault upon the Venetian merchant-ships; 
which is proved, on the unimpeachable authority of the Venetian 
state papers, to have taken place in 1-485. Only seven years, 
therefore, elapsed between his arrival in Lisbon — ^Hohich was 
the cause of Ids discovering the Lidles^^ — and his departure on 
his first voyage in 1492. Fernando is careful, however, to sup- 
l)ress the date of the engagement with the galleys, and writes 
his history in such wise as to make it appear that a long interval 
elapsed between the arrival of his father in Lisbon and his subse- 
quent arrival in Spain ; which, he tells us, took place in 1484. 
"We see at a glance that this date is false, for the capture of the 
galleys took place in 1485, and Fernando recounts how his father, 
saving himself with the aid of an oar, swam ashore ; came to Lis- 
bon ; married there ; subsequently went to Madeira, where he 
resided some time ; returned to Portugal ; negotiated with the 
king of that country ; and, finally, as his exorbitant conditions 
were not acceptable to the Portuguese monarch, came to Spain 
in 1484 — a year previous to his first arrival in Lisbon ! He 



TOSCANELLA.— A FORGERY. 



157 



also gives what purports to be the copy of a letter, written by 
Paul Toscanella, upon navigation and geography, to Ferdinand 
Martinez, a servant of King John of Portugal, dated Florence, 
June 25, 1474. 

Toscanella was a renowned Italian astronomer of the period. 
He erected the famous solstitial gnomen at the cathedral in Flor- 
ence. The presence of the above letter from him among the 




Toscanella u* his Study. 

papers of Columbus, or his son and historian, as well as the 
manner in which the latter seeks to account for its possession, 
and the use he appears desirous to make of it, must create dis- 
trust in the minds of such as shall give the matter a careful ex- 
amination. 

Fernando tells us his father " got knowledge " of the above 
letter, " and soon by means of Laurence Gerardi, a Florentine 
residing at Lisbon, writ upon the subject to the said Mr. Paul." 
He does not, however, tell us at what time Girardi, acting as se- 
cret agent, opened correspondence with Toscanella or Columbus 
upon the subject. The copies of the letters of Columbus to Ins 
middle-man in Lisbon, or to Paul Toscanelli, which would be 
invaluable in this place, are nowhere forthcoming; but, in lieu 
thereof, Feraando gives what he would have his readers believe 



158 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

to be the copy of a letter from the learned Florentine to his 
father. This is shorn of its date and destination, and, moreover, 
contains expressions whicli stamp it as a forgery. 
Fernando thus quotes, or professes to quote : 

The Letter from Paul^ a Physician of Florence^ concerning the 
Discovery of the Indies. 

'' To Christopher Colon Paul, the physician, wishes health, 
" I perceive your noble and earnest desire to sail to those parts 
where the spice is produced, and therefore, in answer to a letter of 
yours, I send you the copy of another letter, which some days since 
I writ to a friend of mine — and servant to the King of Portugal, 
before the wars of Castile — in answer to another he writ to me, 
by his highness's order, upon the same account. And I send 
you another sea-chart like that I sent him, which will satisfy 
your demands. 

" The copy of that letter is this." 

Then follows the letter from Toscanella to Martinez, M-ith its 
date 1474. 

Above is all that is given of the pretended letter from Paul, 
the physician, to Columbus ; and it is also the authority upon 
which historians affirm that the latter had formed his project of 
discovery as early as 1474. A careful analysis of the letter we 
quote, and consideration of the facts regarding it, will, however, 
raise suspicion, which amounts to certainty the further Ave inves- 
tigate the aftair, that it was never written by Toscanella to Co- 
lumbus : 

1. Ferdinand tells us his fother first arrived in Lisbon after 
the capture of the Flanders galleys (1485), and that his coming 
to Lisbon was the cause of his discoveries. It is abundantly 
proved that Columbus actually took ]-)art in this engagement ; he 
icas not therefore in Lisbon^ and had not Ijcen there loheii Tosca- 
nella wrote to Martinez. 

2. It was not in keeping with Italian courtesy, and the 
courtly character of Toscanella himself — had Columbus, in fact, 
ever made application to him for information and instruction 
touching the "Western passage to India — to send the latter the 
copy of a letter, written to another person, retaining the date, 
destination, and sundry persorial observations, that were un- 



TOSOANELLA.— FORGED LETTEK. 159 

doubtedly pertinent as to Martinez, but certainly not in their 
application to Columbus. 

3. The purported letter of Toscanella to Columbus was evi- 
dently written by one who endeavored to prove too much. In 
order that Columbus may appear to have entertained his ideas 
of discovery in l^Ti, and for fear lest the reader should suppose 
that the copy was sent some years after the original had been 
written, Toscanella is made to say : 

" I send you the copy of a letter which I writ some days 
since, to a friend of mine, and servant of the King of Portugal, 
hefore the loars of Castile.''^ 

Does it not appear peculiar that he should thus specify a let- 
ter as having been written before a great historic event, which 
was only written some days since ? AYhere was the necessity of 
such a declaration to Columbus, who upon receipt of the letter 
would have inferred from its date at what period it was written ? 
What have the wars of Castile to do with the letter ? — clearly 
nothing. The allusion to them can hav^e no reference to the 
status of Martinez, as the fact that he was tJien in the service of 
the King of Portugal is not only proved in Toscanella's letter 
to him, dated June 25, 1474, but is corroborated in the pretend- 
ed letter to Columbus. The latter's having been written long 
after the death of Toscanella, and after the wars of Castile, may 
account for its having occurred to the writer that it would help 
his case to insert such a clause. 

Then, too, the words " in answer to a letter of yours • ' have 
the suspicious appearance of having been written by one who 
was eager to prove that Columbus had written to Toscanella, 
and feared that fact might be doubted. A correspondent might 
indeed write, " In answer to your letter of such a date," but " In 
answer to a letter of yours " would be somewhat superfluous in- 
formation, as he to whom the letter was addressed would be 
fully advised in the premises. 

Furthermore, Toscanella, in furnishing a stranger with the 
copy of a letter which had been written by request of the King 
of Portugal, and the original of which was preserved in the 
archives of that country, would have betrayed the confidence of 
the monarch and committed a gross indiscretion. Toscanella, 
the companipn of princes, the friend of the glorious Medici, 
wise, learned, and experienced, would hardly provide a needy 



160 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

adventurer at tlie capital of Portugal Avitli the means of driving 
an unscrupulous and exorbitant bargain with the sovereign with 
whom he corresponded upon the same subject. 

AVho and what Columbus was, we have already shown-, a 
nameless pirate (if, indeed, one bearing so many aliases may be 
termed nameless). Had the learned Florentine known him, he 
would not, we believe, have corresponded with him, and, not 
having known him, it is still less probable that he did so. The 
testimony of Columbus is insufficient to remove suspicion, or 
rather to disprove the forgery wliich the circumstances we have 
cited render so apparent. 

Many able writers, upon the sole authority of the words 
some days since in this pretended letter from Toscanella to 
Columbus, and of the letter to Martinez, dated 14:74, affirm that 
Columbus was that year in Lisbon. Among these may be cited 
Mr. R, II. Major, of the British Museum, who, speaking of the 
encounter with the galleys, doubts the fact of Columbus's ha\ang 
been present thereat and declares Fernando's relation to be 
somewhat apocryphal, basing his doubts upon the letter from 
Toscanella, "for it is certain," he says, " that Columbus was in 
Lisbon previous to 14T-4 (for in that year he has a letter ad- 
dressed to him in that city, in reply to one written by himself 
from the same place " ).'* 

JSTow, as it is by no means certain that Columbus was in Lis- 
bon, for there is nothing to prove it save the words " some days 
since " in the evidently forged letter without a date, and as the 
statement that Columbus was on board one of the pirate-ships 
that attacked the galleys is made in an unqualified manner by 
Fernando and confirmed by public documents, we think Mr. 
Major and other authors rashly discard a plain aiul evidently 
truthful statement for one that is merely hypothetical. 

There could hardly have been any corres])ondcnce between 
Toscanella and Columbus after 1485, as the aged and worthy Flor- 
entine, unfortunately for the glory of our hero, died in 1482 ; we 
believe therefore that Columbus "got knowledge"" of the letter 
to Martinez at least ten years after it was written, and by means 
unknown to us, but undoubtedly surreptitious, obtained a copy 
thereof, probably about the year 1480. Fernando at a subse- 
quent period inserted it in his work, that he might lead his read- 

'" Major, " Introduction to Letters of Columbus," p. xxxix. 



PIEATIOAL ATTACK UPON MEKCHANT-SHIPS. 161 

ers to believe that tlie project of his father was coeval with the 
said letter of 1474, thereby bridging over an awkward chasm. 
AYhether the forged preface, purporting to have been addressed 
by Paul ,to Columbus, was the work of the latter or his son we 
know not ; either was capable of such an act in such a cause. 
Fernando had ample opportunities; he was a priest, engaged in 
collecting a library, in recording and magnifying the glory of 
his family, regardless of propriety or truth ; he was also a mem- 
ber of the same literary junta with Juan Yespucci, who succeed- 
ed to the department in navigation, created by or for Amerigo, 
M^here it is to be presumed the originals or copies of all impor- 
tant papers relative to navigation were kept, especially those 
bearing upon the long-sought-for passage to India by the West. 
It may be urged that his holy vocation would render him inca- 
pable of such a crime as forgery, but this clerical plea will scarce 
avail, w^hen we consider the character of the clergy in his time. 
It was the age of Alexander YI., the notorious Borgia — of assas- 
sination, forgery, and perjury, far more than of sanctity and 
prayer; and when the archbishop forges the papal bull granting 
a dispensation to Ferdinand and Isabella from the penalties of 
an incestuous marriage," why might not Fernando indulge in 
the comparatively innocent occupation of manufacturing epistles 
and falsifying dates to brighten the escutcheon of the Christ- 
bearer ? 

"We are safe, in the case of the piratical assault, to follow the 
narrative of Fernando, discarding and correcting as far as pos- 
sible all dates that are flagrantly inaccurate. He tells us that the 
ships caught fire ; that the crews, to save themselves, leaped into 
the water, where his father, being an expert swimmer, seized a 
floating oar, and with its aid reached the shore. 

Behold, then, our hero struggling onward, clinging to an oar, 
behind him the burning galleys, before him the shores of Portu- 
gal ! These he reaches, is succored, and proceeds to Lisbon, ac- 
cording to his son, "to begin a new state of life ; " and as he did 
nothing wrong, behaved well, and "was comely," he married 
Doiia Felipa Muniz de Perestrela. With respect to his begin- 
ning a new life, we know not precisely whether we are to infer 
that he proposed to betake himself to a seafaring life, or to aban- 
don it. Was he about to give up a nefarious pursuit and lead 

" Prescott, "Ferdinand and Isabella," chapter iii., p. 121. 



162 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



the life of an honest man, or was lie to continue piracy in a new 
field, upon a grander scale ? 

However this may be, his stay in Lisbon was short; his wife's 
father having left some possessions in Madeira, he and his wife 
took up their abode in that island. 

A year could hardly have elapsed before the event took place 
which, it is evident, first attracted the attention of Columbus to 
Western lands, and was as it were the turning-point in his life. 
Modern authors affect to ignore or treat with contempt the story 
of Columbus's having received his first information from a shij)- 
wrecked pilot who died in his house ; but their answers to a state- 
ment which is to be found in almost all early writers (except 
Fernando, who seems anxious to give any other 'reason for his 
father's undertaking, and evinces a desire to lead us as far as 




CoLlMUUS ESCAPES FROM TUF. Y,\ 



possible from this one, though he makes a vague allusion to it in 
his eighth chapter, speaking of 0\nedo's mention of it, which he 
endeavors in a manner to nullify by diverting attention to an 
opposite direction), are not what may be considered erudite or 
convincing. 

Spotorno says : " As to the idle tale which was current in 



THE DEAD PILOT. 163 

Spain, that he had taken the idea of the New World from a pilot 
of whom a nnmber of fables are told, I shall not stop to refute 
it." '' 

This smnmary dismissal of the subject is about the best and- 
most satisfactory answer to the story that we have found. Mr. 
Irving naively shows us the reasons which have induced the eulo- 
gists of Columbus to discredit it. He frankly admits that " its 
veracity would destroy all his " (Columbus's) " merit as an original 
discoverer." " The idle tale, so current in Spain, rests, however, 
upon the very authorities the biographers of Columbus so often 
quote. It is related by Oviedo, who was a contemporary of Co- 
lumbus, and had spent more than forty years in the royal service 
of Spain, beginning with Ferdinand and Isabella, and who had 
visited, and been appointed royal historiographer of, the Indies. 

It is recounted, at length, in Gomara's "History of the Indies," 
which was published in the Spanish language, within the realm, 
and sanctioned by the license of the Archbishop of Saragossa. 
Gomara was himself a priest, and cannot therefore be supposed 
to have written any falsehood detrimental to Columbus, espe- 
cially as he represents the latter as so saintly a character that he 
asserts " rude crosses erected by him healed the sick and per- 
formed miracles many years after his death." ^^ 

Garcilasso de la Vega also gives perfect credence to the his- 
tory of the pilot ; and Eden prefixes it to Locke's English transla- 
tion of Peter Martyr, " for the better understanding of the whole 
work." 

Alonzo de Ovalle, a Jesuit father, whose " Relation of the 
Kingdom of Chili" was printed in Rome in 1649, does not agree 
with Mr. Irving, that to give credence to the story of the pilot, 
which he evidently regards as truthful, is to detract from the 
glory of Columbus.^' Indeed, most early authors considered the 
fact as established, and argued for the greatness of Columbus in 
spite of it. The deviation from truth has yearly widened as 
authors became more extravagant and bigoted in their adulation, 
so that it was finally discarded. 

This is so important a matter that we cannot forbear giving 

^^ Spotorno, "Historia Memoria," p. 29. 

^' Irving, " AppeDdix," No. xi. 

** Gomara, "Historia de las Indias," cap. sxxiii. 

^ Churchill's " Voyages," vol. iii., p. 88. 



104 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

here tlic various accounts to be found in early writers, Avitli tlic 
still more convincing proof of the history having been incorpo- 
rated in 1000, by Captain Galardi. in the introduction to a ^vork 
which he dedicated to the legal representative of the family of 
Columbus. 
A71 Extract from " The Royal Commentaries of Perii^'' \oritten 

originally in Sj)a}ii.sh hy the Inca, Garcilasso de la Vega, aiid 

rendered into English hy Sir Paul Rycaut^ in the Year 

1088: 

" About the year 1484, a certain Pilot, ISTative of Ilelva in 
the County of NieUa, called Alonso Sanchez, usually Traded in 
a small Vessel from /S/j)«m to the Canaries; and there Lading 
the Commodities of that Countrey, .sailed to the Maderas, and 
thence freighted with Sugar and Conserves, returned home into 
Spain ', this was his constant course and traffick, when, in one 
of these Voyages meeting with a most violent Tempest, and not 
able to bear sail, he was forced to put before the Wind for the 
space of twenty- eight or twenty-nine days, not knowing where 
or whither he went, for in all that time he was not able to take 
an observation of the height of the Sun ; and so grievous was the 
storm, that the Mariners could with no convenience either eat or 
sleep : At length, after so many long and tedious days, the 
Wind abating, they found themselves near an Island, which it 
was, is not certainly known, but it is believed to have been San 
Domingo, because that lyes just West from the Canaries, whence 
a storm at East had driven the Ship, which is the more strange, 
because the Easterly Winds seldom blow hard in those Seas, and 
rather make fair weather, than tempestuous. But God, who is 
all-sufficient, intending to bestow his mercies, can make causes 
produce effects contrary to their nature ; as when he drew wa- 
ter from the Hock, and cured the blind with Clay; in like man- 
ner his immense goodness and compassion, designing to transmit 
the light of the true Gospel into the new World, made use of 
these unusual means to convert them from the Idolatry of Gen- 
tilism, and from their foolish and dark superstitions, as shall be 
related in the sequel of this History. 

" The Master, landing on the shore, observed the height of the 
Sun, and so noted particularly in writing what he had seen, and 
what had happened in this Voyage out, and home ; and, having 
supplied himself with fresh water and wood, he put to Sea again ; 



ALONZO DE SANCHEZ. 165 

but having not well observed bis course thither, his way to re- 
turn was the more difficult, and made his Yoyage so long, that 
he began to want both water and provisions, which being added 
to their former sufferings, the people fell sick, and died in that 
manner, that of seventeen persons which came out of Spain, 
there remained but five only alive, when they arrived at Terce- 
ras, of which the Master was one. These came all to lodse at 
the House of that famous Genoese, called Christopher Colon, be- 
cause they knew him to be a great Seaman and Cosmographer, 
and one who made Sea-carts to sail by ; and for this reason he 
received them with much kindness, and treated them with all 
things necessary, that so he might learn from them the particu- 
lars which occurred, and the discoveries they had made in this 
laborious Voyage: but in regard they brought a languishing- 
distemper with them, caused by their Sufferings at Sea, and of 
w^hich they could not be recovered by the kind usage of Colon, 
they all happened to dye in his house, leaving their labours for 
his inheritance ; the which he improved with such readiness of 
mind, that he underwent more, and greater, than they, in regard 
that they lasted longer ; and at length he so well succeeded in 
his enterprise, that he bestowed the IN^ew World, with all its 
riches, upon Sjmin, and therefore deservedly obtained this Motto 
to be inscribed on his Armes : 

' To Castile, and to Leon, 
The New World was given iy Colon.' 

" In this manner the New World was first discovered, for which 
greatness Sjpain is beholding to that little village of Helva, which 
produced such a Son, as gave Colon information of things not 
seen, or known before ; the which secrets, like a prudent person, 
he concealed, till under assurances of silence he first disclosed 
them to such persons of authority about the Catholick Kings, as 
were to be assistant and usefull to him in his design, which could 
never have been laid, or chalked out by the art of Cosmography, 
or the imagination of man, had not Alonso cle Sanchez given the 
first light and conjecture to this discovery; which Colon so 
readily improved, that in seventy-eight days he made his Yoyage 
to the Isle of Guanatiancio, though he was detained some days 
at Gomera to take in Provisions." 

Extract from "Eden's Preface to Peter Martyr's Decades :" 



166 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

" Certaiiie PreamUes here followe, gathered hj R. Eden hereto- 
fore, for the better Understanding of the whole Worke. 

" Of the First Discovering of the West Indies. 

" A Certayne Caranell sayling in the "West Ocean, about the 
coaastes of Spayne, hadd a forcible and continuall winde from the 
East, wliereby it was driucn to a land vnknowne, and not de- 
scribed in any Map or Carde of the Sea, and was driiien still 
along by the coaste of the same for the space of many dales, vntil 
it came to a hauen, where in a short time the most part of the 
mariners, being long before very weake and feble by reason of 
hunger and trauayle, dyed : so that only the Pilot, with three or 
foure other, remayned aliue. And not only they that dyed, did not 
enjoy the Indies whiche they first discouered to their misfortune, 
but the residue also that lined had in maner as litle fruition of 
the same : not leaning, or at the least not openly publishing any 
memorie thereof, neyther of the place or what it was called, or in 
what yeere it was founde : Albeit, the fault was not theirs, but 
rather the malice of others, or the enuie of that, which we cal for- 
tune. I do not therefore marueile, that the auncient histories 
affirme, that great things proccde and increase of small and ob- 
scure beginninges, sith we haue scene the same verified in this 
finding of the Indies, being so notable and newe a thing. We 
neede not be curious to seeke the name of the Pilot, sith death 
made a short ende of his doinges. Some will, that he came from 
Andaluzia, and traded to the Ilandes of Canaria, and Hand of 
Jfadera, when this large and mortall nauigation chaunced vnto 
him. Other say that hee w^s a Byscanne and traded into Eng- 
lande and France. Other also, that hee was a Portugall, and 
that either he went or came from Mina or India : whiche 
agreeth well with the name of the newe landes, as I haue sayd 
before. Againe, some there be that say that he brought the 
Carauell to Portugall, or the Ilande of Madera, or to some other of 
the Ilandes called De las Azores. Yet doe none of them aftirme 
anything, although they all afiirme that the Pilot dyed in the 
house of Christopher Colon^ with whom remayned all suche writ- 
inges and annotations as he had made of his voyage in the said 
Carauell, as well of such thingcs as he observed both by land 
and sea, as also of the eleuation of the pole in those lands which 
he had discouered." 



THE DEAD PILOT. 167 

" What manner of man Christopher Colon {otJierwise called 

Columhus) was, and how lie came first to the knowledge 

of the Indies. 

" Christopher Colon was borne in Cugureo, or (as some say) in 
Nerui, a village in the territory of Genua in Italie. Hee de- 
scended as some thinke, of the house of the Pelestreles of Placen- 
tia in Lomhardie. He beganne of a chylde to bee a maryner : 
of whose arte they haue great exercise on the ryuer of Genua. 
He traded many yeeres into Suria, and other parts of the East. 
After this he became a maister in making cardes for the sea, 
whereby he hadde great vantage. Hee came to Portugall to 
know the reason and description of the Sonth coasts of AfFrica, 
and the nauvigations of the Portugalles, thereby to make his 
cardes more perfect to be solde. Hee maryed in Portugall, as 
some say : or as many say, in the Hand of Madera, where he 
dwelt at such time as the said Carauell arryned there, whose Pi- 
lot sojourned in his house, and dyed also there, bequathing to 
Colon his carde of the description of such newe landes as he had 
found, whereby Colon hadde the first knowledge of the Indies. 
Some haue thought that Colon was well learned in the Latine 
tongue and the science of Cosmographie : and that he was there- 
by first moued to seeke the lands of Antipodes, and the rich Hand 
of Cipango, whereof Marchus Paulus writeth. Also that he had 
reade what Plato in his dialogues of Timeus and Cicias, writeth 
of the great Ilande of Atlantide, and of a great lande in the west 
Ocean vndiscouered, being bigger than Asia and Affi-ica. Fur- 
thermore that he had knowledge what Aristotle and Thephrastus 
saye in their bookes of Maruayles, where they write that certayne 
marchauntes of Carthage, sayling from the stray ghtes of Gibr al- 
ter towarde the "West and South, founde after many dales a great 
Ilande not inhabited, yet replenished with all thinges requisite, 
and hauing many nauigable riuers. In deede Colon was not 
greatly learned : yet of good understanding. And when he had 
knowledge of the sayde newe landes by the information of the 
deade Pilotte, made relation thereof to certayne learned menne, 
with whom he conferred as touching the lyke thinges mentioned 
of olde authors. Hee communicated this secrete and conferred 
chief ely with a Fryar named John Parez of Marchena, that 
dwelt in the Monastery of Bihida. So that I verily beleeve, 

that in manner all that he declared, and manie thinges more that 

12 



168 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

hee left vnspokeii, were written by the sayde Spanyisli Pilotte 
that dyed in his house. For I am purswaded, that if Colon by 
science attained to the knowledge of the Indies, hee woulde long 
before haiie communicated this secrete to his own countrey- 
menne the Genuenses, that trauayle all the worlde for gaynes, 
and not have come into Spayne for this purpose. But doubtless 
hee ncuer thought of any suche thing, beefore he chaunced to bee 
acquainted with the sayd Pylotte, who founde those landcs by 
fortune, according to the sayingc of Plinie, Quod ars docere iion 
2>otuit, casus inuenit. That is, That arte coulde not teache, 
chaunce founde. Albeit, the more Christian opinion is, to thinke 
that GOD of his singular prouidence and iuiinitte goodnesse, at 
the length with eyes of compassion as it were looking downe 
from heauen vpon the Sonnes of Adam, so long kept vnder Sa- 
than's captiuitie, intended even then (for causes to him onelie 
knowne) to rayse those windcs of mercy whereby that Carauell 
(herein most lyke vnto the shyppe of J^oe, whereby the remnant 
of the whole worlde was saued, as by this Carauell this newe 
worlde receyued the first hope of their saluation) was driuen to 
these landes. But wee will nowe declare what great thinges fol- 
lowed of this small begynning, and howe Colon followed this 
matter, reuealed vnto him not without GODS prouidence." 

" After the death of the Pilot and maryners of the Spanyishe 
Carauell that discouered the Indies, ChHstojyher Colon purposed 
to seeke the same." 

Extract from " Purchases Pilgrimage,^'' edition of 1 025 : 
" This history is thus related by Gomara and Joannes Mari- 
ana : a certain caravel sailing in the ocean, by a strong east m^ ind 
long continued was carried to a land unknown, which was not 
expressed in the maps and charts. It was much longer in re- 
turning than in going ; and arriving, had none left alive but the 
Pilot, and three or four mariners, the rest being dead of taminc 
and other extremities ; of which also the remnant perished in 
few days, leaving to Columbus (then the ]>ilot's host) their papers, 
and some grounds of this discovery. The time, place, country, 
and name of the man is uncertain. Some esteem this pilot an 
Andalusian, and that he traded at Madeira, when this befell 
him. Some, a Biscayan, and that his traffic was in England 
and France. And some, a Portuguese, that traded to Mina 



GILARDI ON THE DEAD PILOT. 169 

(India). Some say he arrived in Portugal, others at Madeira, or 
at one of the Azores : all agree that he died in the house of 
Christopher Columhus. It is most likely at Madeira." 

Were we to attempt to give extracts from all the old writers 
who corroborate the story of the dead pilot, we might fill a vol- 
ume ; the above will, however, suffice, and we will conclude with 
the following extract from a dedication to the Duke of Yeraguas, 
the legal representative of the family of Columbus, dated 1666 ; 
written by Captain Galardi, the duke's secretary, on the personal 
history of Columbus ; put forth as the authorized family version, 
founded on the documents of the house.®* We believe it is time 
that over-zealous historians, and the world at large, should cease 
to be more jealous of the honor of Columbus than were his im- 
mediate descendants and heirs to his honors. 

" To the Right Honorable Loed Don Pedro ITiino Colon {Co- 
lumlus) and Portugal ; Grand Admiral of the Indies, 
Grandee of Spain, Duke of Yeraguas and de la Vega, 
3fa?'quis of Jamaica, Count of Gelves, Marquis of Villa 
Mizar, Captain- General of the Naval Army, and Admiral 
of the Low Countries, Camp-Master-General in the Army, 
and Cajptain-General of the Potal, which is on the high- 
seas. 
"My Lord: .... 

" If I am unfortunate enough to be suspected of adulation, 
I can bring in support of my apology the entire world, which 
owes to your ancestors the finest, noblest, most opulent and 
magnificent of its possessions. The annals of the foregoing cen- 
tury, as well as ours, will advance at my head, and it is thence 
that I borrow my just defense, and it is there that what I ad- 
vance will be gloriously authorized. But it is too bad, my lord, 
to dwell upon the bark when it is time to enter into the essence 
and substance of the matter. 

" I will here omit any detailed account of your remote ances- 
try. Suffice it to say that you drew your origin from Terraro 
Colon (Columbus), lord of the castle of Cucaro, who rendered 
very important services to his country, as had also done his illus- 

^ This extract forms part of a " Dedicatory Letter to a Summary of European 
Politics, specially of Spanish AfiFairs," during the century 1550-1650, published at 
Madrid, 1666. 



170 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

trious progenitors Emery and Lanca. I go on to Dominic Colon 
(Columbus) who gave birth to Christofle (Christopher), that 
unique glory and the admiration of his age. But the wonderful 
grandeur of an event so glorious demands some amplification, 
and some pause in this relation of a family history which has 
filled the universe with its praise and applause. Christopher 
Columbus, whose courage was intrepid, and his industry equal to 
the greatness of his soul, obligingly entertained in his house in 
the island of Madeira, the pilot of a vessel which the violence of 
a storm had carried off very far into the ocean, and in sight of 
VMhimcn lands. That man, who also had a nobly-constituted 
nature, touched with the kind interest Avitli which his host gen- 
erously endeavored to reestablish his strength, left him at his death 
a striking testimony of his esteem and of gratitude proportioned 
to that ingenuous benevolence which Columbus had displayed to 
an unknown and unfortunate man. In fact, he left to Columbus 
the very important legacy of his instructions concerning that 
which had happened to him on a voyage so painful and difficult, 
and gave him such sketches of the lands, and directions as to its 
position and distance, as were possible. 

" This was probably the essential cause and first impulse of 
his persuasion that the earth had other limits, and that the sun 
rose and set in another hemisphere. lie opened his mind upon 
this idea to Don Alonzo Y., King of Portugal, who decried it as 
wild and imaginary. Henry YII. of England added mockery 
to reproach, and told him that he did not feed upon deceptive 
notions, the ridiculous eftect of a cracked and wounded brain. 
Columbus took no offense ; he offered up this shame as a sacrifice 
to the utility to posterity of his great idea, satisfied that it would 
add to the praises of a just gratitude, the laudation of a i:)atience 
which was proof against injuries, insults, and contempt. Fer- 
dinand and Isabella were his last resource, to gain whom the 
credit of the Cardinal Mendoza contributed very largely, facili- 
tating an audience which he had been demanding for seven con- 
secutive years, with so much ardor, and it was then that his rea- 
sons made a breach in the opinion of those great kings, who 
promised to sustain this important undertaking. But as the 
conquest of Granada had exhausted their finances, Luis de St. 
Angel, secretary of Ferdinand, lent for the expedition the sum 
of sixteen thousand ducats. 



GILAPvDI OlS" THE BEAD PILOT. 171 

" This small amount of money, three vessels, and one hun- 
dred and twenty men, were the entire fleet, the army and the 
treasure, to put an entire world under the glorious dominion of 
Castile, with more than a thousand millions of souls. Colum- 
bus left Palos and carried on full sail toward the goal to which 
his greatness of soul urged him. He had, however, less to en- 
counter from the boisterous ocean than from the opposition and 
obstinacy of his crew, who clamored against his persisting in so 
apparently imaginary and hopeless an enterprise. Before so 
many evils, Columbus never faltered, and at length overcame in 
a conflict in which the four elements were in concert with his 
fellow-creatures to damp his energy and defeat his invincible 
constancy. 

" Toward the coast of Florida he came upon the Lucayan 
Islands, and discovered at diflerent times Hispaniola, Cuba, 
Jamaica, and the Island San Juan, with a great part of that im- 
mense continent which stretches from the Straits of Magellan to 
the promontory of Bogador, through a prodigious extent of seas 
and coasts, fully flve thousand leagues counted from the antarctic 
to the arctic pole. 

" On his return from his first voyage (he made four voyages 
altogether), Ferdinand and Isabella, as a mark of their peculiar 
esteem, heard him seated ; and, besides the confirmation of the 
tenth part of their taxes in the Indies, declared him their he- 
reditary grand-admiral. Yet, however, during his lifetime and 
after his death, his successful entei-prise was applauded, it is quite 
certain that the reward never equaled the greatness of the ser- 
vice nor the utility which it unceasingly renders to the state. 
Indeed, Columbus might with much greater reason make that 
touching reproach with which Ferdinand Cortez subsequently 
moved the heart of Philip II., when, long unable to obtain an 
audience of the king, driven to despair and reckless of his life, 
he one day accosted that Solomon of his age, taking him by the 
arm and stopping him short, in these words : 

" ' Y. M. escuche un hombre que le ha ganado mas Reynos 
que los que le dexaron su padre y sus aguelos.' 

" ' Sire ! listen to a man who has gained for you more king- 
doms than those which were left you by your father and ances- 
tors.' 

" Philip on this replied very obligingly : 



172 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

" ' Teneis razon, padre ! ' 

" ' Quite right, old friend ! ' 

" And at the same time sent liim away very well satisfied. 
In like manner Columbus might well have maintained before 
Ferdinand, without offending the majesty of that august mon- 
arch, that he had acquired and facilitated the conquest of more 
states than the king had received by hereditary succession from 
his ancestors, Don Diego Columbus, his son, succeeded Chris- 
topher as Marquis of Jamaica and first Duke of A^eraguas, by a 
special grace of Charles Y., who did it only at the instance of 
Don Ferdinand Henriquez, erecting into a duchy his land of 
Medina del Rio Seco. Ferdinand, brother of Diego, left at his 
death to the great Cathedral of Seville his library of thirteen 
thousand volumes, and among them his own work, the life of 
his incomparable father, which in a very elegant style he de- 
voted to posterity. 

" Don Luis was the universal heir of Don Diego, and Don 
Xuijo Colon and Portugal received after him this grand inheri- 
tance as the second son of Don Alvaro de Portugal, Count of 
Gelves, and Dona Leonara de Cordova, his Avife, granddaughter 
of Don George of Portugal, first Count of Gelves and Dona Isa- 
bel Colon (Columbus), third daughter of Don Diego Colon, 
Duke of Veraguas, Grand-Admiral of the Indies. Finally, Don 
Alvaro Colon and Portugal was the successor of Don KuHo, as 
you are of the former. ... 

" This, my lord, is a sketch of the glory of your illustrious 
progenitors. A bolder hand will one day make the sketch com- 
plete, with all its colors and details j^roportioned to the glory and 
finish of the subject. 

" It is my own ambition, but for the present I must be con- 
tent to subscribe myself for my whole existence, my lord, your 
very devoted and obedient servant, 

(Signed) "P. Ferdinand de Galakdi, 

" Captain of cavalry in the service of his Catholic Majesty, and secretary to 
the Duke of Veraguas," etc. 

Upon what authority, we ask, do historians reject a statement 
made in such unqualified terms, by quasi contemporary authors 
who wrote in the praise of Columbus — who were licensed by 
the Church ? Above all, how can they suppose that Galardi, 



DEAD PILOT. 173 

while extolling in nYost fulsome terms the greatness of Colum- 
bus to the representative of his family, would introduce into his 
eulogy a falsehood detrimental to the glory of his hero ? The 
very fact that he mentions the history of the dead pilot in such 
a ])lace, to such a j^^t'son, proves, it appears to us, that it was 
universally admitted. 

It is but natural that Fernando should make no direct men- 
tion of it. He seems to have possessed certain distorted ideas of 
greatness which caused him to become exceedingly indignant with 
Justiniani for saying his father was a mechanic — a sentiment 
which comes with but bad grace from an ecclesiastic. When, 
therefore, he devotes several lengthy chapters to show how Co- 
lumbus was led by a study of the ancients, his own reason, and 
the letter from Toscanella, to perform his voyage, he evidently 
seeks to lead us as far as possible from the true motive (the death 
of the pilot and the papers he left in Columbus's hands) which 
would greatly simplify the proceeding, and has not so learned an 
appearance as the reasons he gives ; these seem rather to have 
been assigned to parry a fatal blow, for sailing by a chart already 
laid down by one who had performed the voyage, was no very 
extraordinary feat, as he no doubt felt. Yet, notwithstanding all 
his efforts, there is much in his history which supports the state- 
ment. 

Had Columbus really, by deep study, arrived at the conclu- 
sion that land must exist to the westward, would he have been as 
positive of the exact situation of that land as he shows himself; 
and as his son shows him to have been throughout ? He admits 
of no hypothesis, but asserts that, by sailing a given distance in 
a westerly direction, they shall reach certain lands which, he tells 
us, he has heen informed stretched from north to south across his 
trach. On one occasion he refuses to alter his course, " because," 
says Fernando, " he thought it was lessening the reputation of 
his undertaking to run from one place to another, seeking that 
which he always asserted he well knew where to find." 

This conduct is precisely the reverse of that which a discov- 
erer would pursue. The latter would run from place to place, 
seeking that which he was to discover, and could not well know 
where to find. Again, we are told by Fernando : 

" He had always proposed to himself to find land according 
to the place they were then in, since, as they well knew, he had 



174 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

often told them he never expected to find land till he was seven 
hundred and fifty leagues to the Avestward of the Canaries, with- 
in which distance he had further said he should discover Hispa- 
niola, which he then called Cipango ; and there is no doubt but 
he had found it had not he Jawwn it vms reported to lie in length 
from north to south, for which reason he had not inclined more 
to the south to run upon it." 

Is this the language of a discoverer ? Is it not rather that 
of one who had inherited the labors of Alonzo de Sanchez or 
some other navigator, who is robbed of his well-earned fame ? 
Who reported the land to lie in length from north to south and 
at the distance west from the Canaries of seven hundred and 
fifty leagues ? Surely no one who had not seen it. The informa- 
tion touching the distance and position of the land is too specific 
to have been derived from any but an eye-witness, and, having 
received this information from such a source, he could not believe 
that Hispaniola was Cipango (Japan). No intelligent man, above 
all, no navigator or traveler who had visited India, China, or 
Japan, or studied the geography of the period, could mistake the 
island of Hispaniola for any of these countries. Toscanella, in 
his chart, laid down a western passage to Asia, but was too 
learned a man to make a mistake of half the circumference of 
the globe, as he would have done had he placed India and the 
known portions of Asia seven hundred and fifty leagues west of 
the Canaries. 

Again, Pinzon wished Columbus to change his course, be- 
lieving (correctly) that land was near them to the southwest ; 
but the admiral, writes Fernando, " knowing for certain it was 
no land, he would not lose time to discover it, as all his men 
would have had him ; forasmuch as he was not yet come to the 
place M'here he expected, by his computation, to find land." 

Columbus, on his o-^ti testimony, corroborates, in a great 
measure, the statement that he sailed by the log-book of the un- 
fortunate mariner, " who happened to die in his house." In his 
journal, September 25, 1492, we read : 

" Martin Alonzo Pinzon conferred with the admiral on the 
chart in loMch lands were laid doion^ as the ships were then in 
their neighborhood — and had been for three days — in which the 
admiral agreed ; but, as the ships had not seen them, it was con- 
sidered they had been drifted northward of them by the current. 



DEAD PILOT. 



175 



The admiral directed the course to be altered to the south- 
west." 

" October 3, 1492. — The admiral considered the ships were 
to the westward of the islands marked on the chart.'''' 

These statements, and the fact that he professed to know the 
exact point where they should hnd land, prove this to have been 
no voyao-e of discovery, and Columbus to have been erroneously 
termed a discoverer. 

That it was no study or scientific knowledge which imbued 
him with the idea of his Western voyage, must be evident to all 




The Shipwkecked Pilot entees the House of Columbus. 



who shall give the matter consideration, and shall read, with un- 
biassed judgment, the various histories which have been written 
upon the subject — from that of his son Fernando, which "Wash- 
ington Irving terms the "corner-stone of the history of the 
American Continent," down to the brilliant but unreliable Avork 
of Irving himself — and the enthusiastic and ecstatic history by 
M. de Lorgues, who will not rest content till Columbus be 
numbered amons; the saints. 

Without a knowledge of the history of the dead pilot, we 
vainly endeavor to explain the many inconsistencies we have 



176 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. - 

mentioned ; with that knowledge, all becomes clear, simple, and 
probable. 

Columbus, the needy adventurer, and but half-reformed pi- 
rate, receives into his house, on the lonely shores of Madeira, a 
pilot and three sailors, sole survivors of a crew whose ship hatl 
been driven westward by adverse winds, till it touched upon land 
unknown to European navigators at that time. The pilot had 
recorded exactly the latitude and longitude of these lands, the dis- 
tance he sailed, and the course he pursued. He and his comj^an- 
ions all happen to die in the house of Columhus, into whose hands 
fiill the papers of the deceased. Seeing in these documents 
matter wherewith to make his fortune and acquire fame, at small 
risk or peril, Columbus determines to profit by them, and profit 
largely, too. His conditions are not those of a learned and honest 
navigator exposing his views, which might be carried out by any 
experienced seaman, but of one who, being possessed of certain 
secret information, proposes to sell it at a high price. 

AVhere, then, is the extraordinary courage so much extolled 
by his biographers, as they represent him, guided only by his 
own intuitive knowledge, or scientific research, sailing across 
what was supposed to be a boundless ocean, and discovering a 
land which he alone had divined ? Did it require such wonderful 
fortitude to undertake a voyage every league of which was laid 
down by one who had already performed it ? 

Columbus was as certain of his course, and of the distance be- 
tween the Canaries and the lands in question, as he was that he 
was not sailing to Asia, but to certain islands where liis ambition 
and vanity would be gratified by the sounding titles of viceroy 
and admiral. Viceroy, indeed, over naked savages ! — Admiral 
of three fishing-smacks ! But there is much in a name, or at 
least our hero thought so. 

With these facts before us, Columbus — as he is, and as histo- 
rians have made him — reminds us of the Arabian fable, in which 
we are told how a poor fisherman brought up in his net a small 
casket. Upon his opening it, a great smoke emerges, which as- 
sumes the proportions of a gigantic human form — a powerful genius 
— striking wonder, admiration, and terror, into the heart of the 
fisherman. I>ut soon the great genius dissolves into smoke, his 
huirc form subsides into the tinv casket which has hitherto 
contained him; and the fisherman, no longer fearing or ad- 



OBLIVION" OR CONTEMPT. 177 

miring, may fling the casket back into the waves whence he 
drew it. 

Columbus, in his own day, was but lightly esteemed, as he 
and his historians admit. Yet the latter have surrounded him 
with such a mist of fiction, with such incense of praise, that his 
real character, being veiled or but partially revealed, he has ap- 
peared to many great and wonderful. Let the test of reason and 
judgment, however, be applied ; let the reader of these histories 
calmly scrutinize these statements, and pause to consider what 
were the actions which are the theme of so much laudation, and 
the mist is dispersed, the incense disappears, and the character of 
Columbus shrinks into its really diminutive proportions. "Well 
would it be for him if his name could be cast into the sea of 
oblivion, where his crimes and petty arrogance might never more 
be the subject of horror and contempt ! 



CHAPTEK XI. 

rREPARATIONS FOR THE FIKST VOYAGE OF COLUMBrS. 

The pilot being dead, Columbus determined to trade upon the 
papers he had left, with the aid of which he hoped to attain rank 
and fortune. 

According to Fernando, his father had obtained information 
which induced him to " believe for certain that there were such 
islands," Here is evidence that it was upon information received 
that the latter based his operations, which might appear some- 
what inexplicable when we have been told, by Fernando, that 
study and thought were the incentives to the discovery, did we 
not bear in mind that it applies perfectly to the dead pilot. The 
information received, which caused such certainty in the mind of 
Columbus, M'as the waif of Alonzo de Sanchez ; and the former, 
believing this knowledge and opinion to be "excellently well 
founded," he resolved to put it in practice, and to sail westward 
in search of these countries. 

This he could not do without the protection of some monarch. 
It was also necessary that the nautical skill and pecuniary ex- 
pense of the expedition should be provided by other parties. 
He therefore proceeded to Portugal, to lay his plans before the 
king of that country, " because he lived under him." 

His terms, the same which he subsequently offers in Castile, 
are justly thought by the King of Portugal too exorbitant for 
him to accede to. "The admiral," says Fernando, "being of a 
noble and generous spirit, would capitulate to his great benefit 
and ' honor.' " We fail to perceive a noble and generous spirit 
in one who greedily exacts immense benefit and reward, while 
totally dependent on others for the means wherewith to carry 
out his scheme. It has required this assurance from Fernando, 
and the corroboration it has received from subsequent historians, 



KING OF POETUGAL. I79 

to make tlie conduct of the admiral appear otLer than grasping, 
and unworthy of true greatness. This, at any rate, was the opin- 
ion which the King of Portugal evidently entertained. He re- 
fused to accept the conditions ; but, according to Fernando, 
" resolved to send a caravel privately to attempt that which the 
admiral had proposed to him ; " that, in the event of the coun- 
tries having been found, he might not be called upon to give the 
immense rewards Columbus had claimed. This story rests upon 
the unreliable testimony of the Columbos, and should therefore 
be regarded with suspicion ; yet, had the king so acted, it would 
have been but just. 

If the name and history of the dead pilot are unknown to 
fame, it is the fault of Columbus, who culminates a long life of 
piracy by robbing, of the glory that belonged to him, a dead man, 
whom he had received in double trust, who had died beneath his 
roof! And, though he will be more wary in Spain, he had evi- 
dently revealed to the King of Portugal the source whence he 
derived his information. That monarch may not have thought 
it more dishonorable to revisit these lands on his own account, 
than for Columbus to drive an unscrupulous bargain over the 
spoils of a dead man ; he may rather have thought it a meritori- 
ous act to 

: . . " spoil the spoiler as we may, 
And from the robber rend the prey," 

It is this reported conduct on the part of the king that Fernando 
assigns as a reason for his father's becoming disgusted with, and 
leaving, Portugal ; " stealing away privately, lest the king should 
stop him," and accept his conditions. There exists, however, a 
document which leads us to suppose that Columbus feared to be 
stopped by the alguazil rather than by the relenting monarch. 
A Portuguese document plainly shows that he had become liable 
to arrest for debt and crime." This accounts for the extraordi- 
nary aversion he suddenly evinced for the kingdom of Portugal, 
as also for his flight into Spain, where we next find him beg- 
ging, penniless, at the Convent de la Rabida, receiving from 
Pinzon the money, and from Juan Perez, prior of the convent, 
and former confessor of the queen, the letter wherewith to pre- 
sent himself at the Spanish court, whither he resolves to jour- 
ney, and there make the offers which the King of Portugal had 

^' Navarrete, vol. ii., p. 10. 



180 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

refused. " But," says Fernando, " for fear lest the King (Queen ? ) 
of Castile should not consent to his undertaking, and he might 
be forced to propose it to some other prince, which would take 
up much time, he sent a brother he had with him, called Bar- 
tholomew Colon, to England, to confer with tlie king of that 
country." 

Bartholomew is said to have fallen into the hands of pirates, 
yet, nevertheless, reached England, and presented Henry YII. 
with a map or chart, at the same time telling him of the offer 
his brother Christopher made, to discover lands in the West, for 
the English kingdom. The king, we are told, readily accepted 
the otter, and oi'dered Columbus to be sent for. All this, accord- 
ing to Fernando, took place in the year 14S0 ! " But," contin- 
ues the latter, " God having reserved it for Castile, the admiral 
had, at that time, gone on his voyage, and returned with success." 

It may not be amiss, in order to prove further the deplorable 
want of exactitude, with regard to dates, which pervades Fer- 
nando's history, to call attention to the year 14S0, set down by 
him as that in which Bartholomew presented the king with the 
map and the conditions oifered by Christopher. It is more than 
twelve years previous to his first vo^^age (1492). The action of 
the king appears to have been prompt : " Having seen the map " 
(he is represented as having seen it in 1480), " and what the ad- 
miral offered him, he readily accepted of it, and ordered him to 
be sent for." Yet we are told, on the same authority, that, by 
the time Bartholomew informed Columbus of a matter which was 
of such vital importance to him, he had performed his first voy- 
age and returned ; at a time, too, when intimate relations, both 
commercial and diplomatic, existed between England and Spain ; 
and when, therefore, a period of twelve years Avas not necessary 
for the transmission of a communication from one country to the 
other. "VVe merely mention this to show ho^Y inconsistent Fer- 
nando proves himself throughout, for it is not possible that Bar- 
tholomew could have gone to England on any such errand in 
1180, as Columbus did not visit Lisbon till 1185. Fernando 
here, again, attempts to antedate the dead pilot. 

Columbus did not, evidently, steal into Spain till 1187. We 
have already said that Pinzon provided him, on his first arrival, 
with money sufficient to carry him to court. The reader will be 
prepared to believe that his finances soon ran low ; and we find 



AT PALOS. 



181 



that, on the 5th of May, 1487, a stranger, called Christopher 
Columbus, came to Seville, asked for and received, by order of 
the Bishop of Palencia, a sum of money equal to about thirty 
dollars/" This is said to be the earliest authentic date, proving 
his presence in Spain, which can be found. We may, therefore, 
safely conclude that the space of time between his first arrival in 
Lisbon, and his stealthy flight therefrom in March or April, 1487? 
was chiefly spent in Madeira, attending to the matter of the dead 
pilot, and arranging for the successful use of his charts ; thence 




CONTEEENCB BETWEEN COLITMBUS AND JuAN PeEBZ. 

he returned to Lisbon, profiered his services, staid but a very- 
short time, to arrive in Spain in 1487. This is the only manner 
in which the history of Columbus can be made consistent and 
clear throughout, because it is evidently the only true version of 
that history. 

When Columbus arrived at the convent-gate at Palos, hun- 
gry and penniless, he was received and cared for by the charitable 
monks. To the prior, Juan Perez, he spoke of his plans. This 
worthy friar advised him to confer with the Pinzons, the most 
influential family of the town, and experienced navigators. 

^° Xavarretc, " Colecc. Eip.," vol. ii., p. 11. 



182 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Martin Alonzo Pinzon, having, during a recent sojourn in Eome, 
heard rumors of AVestcrn lands, saw nothing improbaLle in the 
recital of Columbus, and advised him to lay his plans before the 
sovereiffus. The latter informed him of his destitute eircum- 
stances, which would not allow him to perform such a journey, 
much less appear at court. Pinzon liberally advanced him the 
necessary funds, while Juan Perez oti'ered to care for his little 
son, and furnished him with a letter of recommendation to his 
successor as confessor to the queen." 

All these circumstances, though far less shameful than many 
others of his career, Fernando nngenerously fails to mention, 
but accounts for Columbus having obtained audience with their 
Majesties by his being " affable and of pleasant conversation ; " 
and would make it appear that he contracted friendships at court 
with such persons as were likely to favor his enterprise. The son 
seems unwilling to let us perceive the destitute condition of his 
father when he arrived in Spain ; and, above all, he would con- 
ceal the fiict that the Pinzon s, whom Columbus so shamefully 
requited, were the first to encourage and assist him. 

"With the letter from Juan Perez, Columbus arrived at Cor- 
dova, where the court was then held, and laid his plans, or as 
much of them as he chose to reveal, before their Catholic Majes- 
ties, who commanded them to be submitted to the Prior of 
Prado, and other cosmographers, "vvho were so ignorant, we are 
told, and so far behind this " unlettered admiral," in geogra])hi- 
cal knowledge, that they condemned the scheme, for reasons both 
various and absurd, and reported that what Columbus proposed 
was impracticable. For these reasons, according to Fernando 
and other historians, and because the conditions of Columbus 
were considered too exorbitant, their Majesties refused to accept 
his proposition. Here is a gross slander upon the learned men 
of that period. Let us bear in mind that the Arabs had for cen- 
turies enlightened Spain with their learning ; that the schools of 
Cordova,of Salamanca, and other cities, possessed spheres, zodiacs, 
etc., which had long aided to instruct thousands, giving them 
just ideas of the heavens and the earth ; yet Fernando, and even 
modern writers, M'ould have us believe that the most learned of 
these schools scoffed at the idea of antipodci, and of the sphe- 

*■' Navarrete, " Colecc. Dip.," vol. iii. ; Probanzas del Fiscal ; Irving, " Columbus," 
book ii., chapter i. 



CONTRACT UNDER WHICH HE SAILS. 183 

ricity of the globe, and were more ignorant than the unlettered 
seaman who tells ns the world is pear-shaped ! 

The exorbitancy of Cohmibus's claims seems to have been the 
only reason for the refusal. The latter evidently exposed no 
theory, but merely spoke of certain lands of which he had mys- 
terious knowledge, and which he proposes to conquer for their 
Majesties. When called upon to be more explicit, he refuses 
" so far to explain himself," as he had done in Portugal, lest he 
should be deprived of his reward — that is, he forbore mentioning 
the history of the dead pilot; and, as he would not show more 
plainly upon what he based his stupendous claims, the affair 
was allowed to drop. 

Had Columbus based his project on theory, why need he have 
refused to explain that theory ? A scientific discussion would have 
done little to convince men so obstinate in their error as historic 
ans represent the savants of Salamanca to have been ; but the cii-- 
cumstance of the dead pilot would have carried conviction into 
the heart of the most unbelieving ; and that is why Columbus 
refused to explain himself further, lest he should be deprived of 
his reward. He evidently had information as to a specific spot, 
not mere scientific data for argument. No doubt, in his attempt 
to account on scientific principles for this information, he showed 
himself as ignorant as he does in his writings, and may justly 
have incurred the ridicule of the assembled scholars. 

The reader will not be surprised that the sovereigns hesitated 
in acceding to the claims of Columbus when he perceives how 
advantageous to him they were. The following were the terms 
agreed upon by their Catholic Majesties, on the 17th of April, 
1192 : 

" First : Their highnesses, as sovereigns of the ocean, con- 
stitute Don Christopher Columbus their admiral in all those 
islands and continents, that, by his industry, shall be discovered 
or conquered in the said ocean, during his own life, and after his 
death to his heirs and successors, one by one forever, with all 
the preeminences and prerogatives to that office pertaining ; and 
in the same manner as Don Alonzo Ilenriquez, their Great-Ad- 
miral of Castile and his predecessors in said office had enjoyed 
the same within their districts. 

" Item : Their highnesses appoint the said Don Christopher 



184 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Columbus their viceroy and governor-general of all the islands 
and continents which (as has been said) he shall discover or con- 
quer in the said ocean, and that he choose three persons for the 
government of each of them, fur each office ; and that their 
highnesses take and make choice of one of them, as shall be 
most for their service, and so the lands will be the better gov- 
erned, which our Lord shall permit him to discover, or conquer, 
for the service of their highnesses. 

" Item : That all and whatsoever commodities, whether pearls, 
precious stones, gold, silver, spice, or other things whatsoever ; 
or merchandise of any kind, name, or manner whatever, they 
may be, that shall be bought, exchanged, found, won, or had, 
within the limits of the said admiralship, their highnesses, 
from this time, grant to the said Don Christopher ; and it is their 
will, that he have and enjoy the tenth part of it for himself, de- 
ducting the charges that shall be made toward the same, so that, 
of what shall remain clear and free, he have and take the tenth 
part for himself, and dispose of it at his ovm will, the other nine 
parts remaining for their Majesties. 

" Item : In case that on account of the said merchandise, 
which he shall bring from the said islands, or lands, which shall 
(as has been said) be discovered or conquered, or of those that 
shall be taken in exchange of them of other merchants, any law- 
suit should happen to arise, in the place where the said com- 
merce and trade shall be made and carried on, if by reason of 
his said office of admiral it shall belong to him to take cogni- 
zance of such controversy, it may please their highnesses, that he 
or his deputy, and no other judge, shall try the said cause, if it 
appertains to the said office of admiral as the same has been en- 
joyed by the Admiral Don Alonzo Ilenriquez, or his predeces- 
sors in their districts, and according to justice. 

" Item ; That all ships which shall be fitted out for the said 
trade and commerce, whensoever and as often as they shall be 
fitted, sliall be liable to the said Don Christopher Columbus, if 
he shall think fit to lay out the eighth part of what shall be ex- 
pended in fitting them out, and that he accordingly have and re- 
ceive the eighth part of the profits of such ships." 

Herrera, from whom the above terms are quoted, carefully 
omits, however, the important preliminary articles which were 



CHAEACTER OF CONTRACT. 185 

drawn up, and upon wliicli these terms were based. His reason 
for this is obvious : In these preliminaries, preserved among the 
state papers of Spain, Columbus wisely makes a provision by 
which, in the event of its being discovered that he traded upon 
knowledge received from the dead pilot, his claims might still he 
'protected. This preliminary document, written in April, 1492, 
commences with the following significant clause : 

" The favors which Christopher Columbus has asked from the 
King and Queen of Spain, and which they grant him., in recom- 
pense for the discoveries which he has made in the ocean seas, 
and as recompense for the voyage which he is ohout to undertake, 
are the following." " 

No author, not even Fernando, with his manifest exaggeration 
of his father's achievements and knowledge, pretends that Co- 
lumbus had been on a voyage of discovery previous to 1492 ; to 
what, then, does the j)hrase " discoveries which he has made in 
the ocean seas " allude ? It is distinctly stated that he has al- 
ready made discoveries ; this could not apply to scientific theory 
and speculation, which yet remained to be proved, but it applies 
perfectly to the very specific knowledge received from the pilot 
Sanchez, upon which Cokimbus bases his claim of having already 
discovered. 

The phraseology of the contract, the excuse given by the 
sovereigns for their refusal at first to accept it — which was that, 
being engaged in fighting the Moors, they could not enter u])on 
any other war just then — the large number of armed men crowd- 
ed into the three small vessels which formed his first expedition 
(for, though Fernando says it was composed of ninety men, other 
authors assert that "he was sent with one hundred and twenty 
soldiers, besides seamen") — the cannon with which they were 
provided — Columbus's repeated after-allusions to his conquest, 
when insisting upon a share of the spoils and in the government 
of the people — all prove that he did not rest his claims entii-'ely 
upon discovery, but more upon conqiiest.^^ Under the clause 

^8 State papers, 1492 ; document VO. 

^5 When complaining that a judge had been sent out by Isabella to investigate his 
conduct, he writes : " I ought to be judged as a captain, sent from Spain to the Indies, 
to conquer a nation numerous and warlike . . . where, by the Divine will, I have 
subdued another world to the dominion of the king and queen, our sovereigns. . . . 
I ought to be judged by cavaliers who had themselves won the meed of victory ; by 
gentlemen, indeed, and not by lawyers." He seems here to have forgotten that, of this 



186 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

" or conqiier^'' his prerogatives are as completely protected as 
they could he hy all the discoveries that it M-as possible for him 
to make or imagine ; besides which, they could not be prejudiced, 
should the lands have been previously discovered by a hundred 
dead or living navigators ; that is, if the contract were legal. 
He professed to the sovereigns of Spain that he was undertaking 
an embassy from them to the grand-khan, as he clearly states 
in his journal, which he pompously opens as follows : 

"7?i nomine D. K. Jesu Christi : 

" WJiereas^ most Christian, most high, most excellent, and 
most powerful princes. King and Queen of the Spains, and of the 
islands of the sea, our sovereigns, in the present year 1492, 
after your highnesses had put an end to the war with the Moors, 
who ruled in Europe, and had concluded that warfare in the 
great city of Granada, where, on the 2d of January of this pres- 
ent year, I saw the royal banners of your highnesses placed by 
force of arms upon the towers of Alhambra, which is the fortress 
of that city, and beheld the Moorish king sally forth from the 
gates of the city, and kiss the royal hands of your highnesses, 
and of my lord the prijice ; and immediately, in that same 
month, in consequence of the information which I had given 
your highnesses of the lands of India, and of a prince who is 
called the Grand-Khan — which is to say, in our language, King 
of kings — how that many times he and his predecessors had sent 
to Home, to entreat for doctors of our holy faith to instruct him 
in the same, and that the Holy Father had never provided for 
them, and that so many people were lost believing in idolatries, 
and imbibing doctrines of perdition ; therefore, your highnesses, 
as Catholic Christians and princes, lovers and promoters of the 
holy Christian fiiith, and enemies of the sect of Mohammed, and 
of all idolatries and heresies, determined to send me, Christopher 
Columbus, to the said parts of India, to see the said princes, and 
the people, and the lands, and discover the nature and disposition 
of tliem all, and the means to be taken for the conversion of 
them to our holy faith ; and ordered that I should not go by 
land to the East, by which it is the custom to go, but by a voyage 

numerous and warlike people, he once wrote : " So loving, so tractable, so peaceable 
are these people that, I swear to your Majesties, there is not in the world a better 
nation," etc., etc. 



EXTRACT FROM COLUMBUS'S LOG-BOOK. 187 

to the West, by whicli course, unto the present time, we do not 
know for certain that any one hath passed. 

" Your highnesses, therefore, after having expelled all the 
Jews from your kingdoms and territories, commanded me, in the 
same month of January, to proceed with a sufficient armament 
to the said parts of India ; and, for this purpose, bestowed great 
favors upon me, ennobling me, that thenceforward I might style 
myself Don, appointing me high-admiral of the ocean sea, and 
perpetual viceroy and governor of all the islands and continents 
I should discover and acquire, and which henceforward may be 
discovered and gained in the ocean sea ; and that my eldest son 
should succeed me, and so on, from generation to generation, 
forever. 

"I departed, therefore, from the city of Granada, on Saturday, 
the 12th of May, of the same year, 1492, to Palos, a seaport, 
where I armed three ships well calculated for such service, and 
sailed from that port well furnished with provisions, and with 
many seamen, on Friday, 3d of August, of the same year, half 
an hour before sunrise ; and took the route for the Canary Isl- 
ands of your highnesses, to steer my course thence, and navigate 
until I should arrive at the Indies, and deliver the einbassy of 
your highnesses to those princes, and accomplish that which 
you had commanded." 

This short extract is a sample of the writings of Columbus, 
for it contains two manifest falsehoods. We know that it was 
not he who armed the vessels for the expedition, as he boasts to 
have done ; nor are we to suppose that he believed the countries 
he was in search of to be the rich and well-known regions of 
India in Asia, which it had hitherto been customary to reach 
eastward by land. The dead pilot had well inforMied him of the 
nature of the lands and people, but by the pretense of sailing to 
Asia, the trade with which was the subject of so much rivalry, 
he, in the language of his son, " sought to tempt their Crttholic 
Majesties," and induce them to grant the extraordinarily advan- 
tageous terms he craved. 

When his solicitations had been refused at the Spanish court, 
he returned to Palos, that he might confer with those who had 
befriended him. Fernando tells us, he made up his mind to 
offer his services to France ; but we believe this pretense of his 



188 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

liaving laid his plans before all tlie powers of Europe, is merely 
made to increase tlie importance of Columbus. We are con- 
firmed in this belief by the incongruity of Fernando's narrative. 
In his eleventh and twelfth chapters, he tells us his father was 
not informed that Henry YII. had acceded to the proposals made 
by Bartholomew Columbus till after his return from his first 
voyage ; that he stole away from Portugal because the king of 
that country did not accept his terms, and had deceived him. In 
his fourteenth chapter, we read that he was "very desirous that 
Spain should reap the benefit of his undertaking, . . . because 
he had long resided there, while following his project, and be- 
cause he had got children there ; which was the cause why he 
rejected the offers made him by other princes, as he declares 
in a letter he writ their highnesses, in these w' ords : ' That I 
might serve your highnesses, I refused to take up with France, 
England, and Portugal.' " 

It is possible, as Columbus was nowise scrupulously vera- 
cious, that he may have written in such terms to the Spanish 
sovereigns, thinking that, should they believe other sovereigns 
competed with them, they would be the more readily persuaded 
to grant his requests ; but the fiict that he did refuse to serve the 
nations above mentioned is by no means thereby established. 

According to Fernando's own showing, his father only knew 
that the King of England would accept his offer after he had re- 
turned from his first voyage ; he could scarcely, therefore, be said 
to refuse that which had not been tendered him. That he traded 
with France is a statement made and supported only by Colum- 
bus and his son. 

He appears to have returned to Palos, where he urged his 
case upon his friends Juan Perez and the Pinzons, the former 
thinking he m\ght possibly retain some of his old influence over 
the queen, whose confessor he had once been, borrowed a mule 
and departed at midnight for the royal camp of Santa Fe, before 
Granada, where it is probable his persuasions induced the queen 
to accede to Columbus's demands, giving an order on the town 
of Palos for two caravels, a third to be fitted out, at the expense 
of Columbus, 

Fernando tells us it was one Lnis de Santangel, who remon- 
strated with the queen upon her refusal, and that the latter, in 
her repentance, offered to pledge her jewels in order to defray 



WEALTH OF SPAIN. 189 

the expense of the expedition. This story is as absurd as many 
others coined by Fernando to embellish the history of his father. 
The coffers of Spain were then well filled. The treasury of the 
queen had received an extraordinary increase from her per- 
fidious conduct toward the Moors of Malaga, from whom she 
had obtained millions, holding out the hope of ransom, who, 
when they had given all the treasure they possessed, were sold 




Juan Perez on his Wat to Coitet. 



into slavery. The ostentatious luxury of Castile was the won- 
der of neighboring nations. Artisans could indulge their wives 
and daughters in a rivalry of display with nobles, at a cost far 
exceeding that of the contemplated expedition. It would seem 
extraordinary, therefore, that the expense of providing three 
small vessels, should have rested so heavily upon the royal cof- 
fers, that her Majesty should be obliged to resort to some Hebrew 
gentlemen to whom she might pawn her jewels. But had this 



190 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

been so, had the queen been as destitute as she is represented, 
it is evident that the expedition in question cost her little or 
nothing, and that she never had any necessity for pawning her 
property. The expense necessary for it was levied upon the little 
town of Palos, as a punishment for some offense against the 
crown, as aj^pears from the following royal order, with which 
Columbus returned to that town : 

" Requisition upon the Municijyality of Palos. 

" In consequence of the offense which we received at your 
hands, you were condemned by our council to render us the ser- 
vice of two caravels, armed at 3'our own expense, for the space 
of twelve months, whenever and wherever it should be our 
pleasure to demand the service. 

"April 30, 1492." 

Many private individuals of moderate means would have 
been able, in any event, to furnish the outlay. The Pinzons pro- 
vided Columbus, who possessed not a maravedi, with the eighth 
part of the expense which he had boasted he would dcfi-ay ; and 
thus, without outlay from the crown, a poor lishing-town, and 
two private gentlemen, equipped the fleet of three little vessels, 
which the Queen of Spain is represented as unable to do, unless 
she pawned her jewels. 

Columbus, on arriving at Palos with his orders, did not meet 
with an enthusiastic reception from the inhabitants ; t\\Qj were 
unwilling to follow an unknown adveuturer on a long voyage. 
Two of the ships, when provided, were secretly scuttled. The 
delay and difficulty increased, and threatened seriously to im- 
pede the undertaking, when the Pinzons, those brave brothers, 
seeing how matters stood, and having part of their fortune em- 
barked in the enterprise, came forward and offered each to take 
command of a caravel. The men of Palos, by whom the Pin- 
zons were held in great esteem and respect, now came forward 
willingly. Two small caravels, the Pinta and the jSTina, were 
commanded respectively by Martin Alonzo and Vincent Yanez 
Pinzon ; the St. Mary, the somewhat larger vessel equipped at 
the expense of the Pinzons, was under the command of the 
thenceforth " Admiral Don Christopher Columbus," his right to 
which title, like all new-born nobility, neither he nor his son 



TITLE OF ADMIEAL. 191 

will ever forget. As men are born poets and artists, so it would 
appear Columbus was born admiral. The opening chapter of 
Fernando's history makes the title ascend, on the Chinese prin- 
ciple beyond his birth, and thenceforth every incident of his life 
is referred to " tlie admiral • " when speaking of his early life, 
of his piracy, it is " the admiral / " when recounting his solicita- 
tions for the title at the Spanish court, it is " the qdmiraV who 
solicits. 

This prospective enjoyment of a ponderous title is amusing 
in view of the ultimate grandeur of his command : three small 
vessels, ordinary fishing-smacks, of from thirty to sixty tons bur- 
den, two of them without decks, and for the best of these he is 
indebted to the man whom he will afterward gratefully term 
" one Pinzon." 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE FIKST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS. 



With this fleet Columbus set sail from tlie little port of Pa- 
los, on Friday, August 3, 1492, for tlie Canaries. 

During the transit the rudder of the Pinta gave way, which 




"Suddenly an immense sea-flsh (some call it halena) was before them, and upon the body of this, 
holding itself immovable as a rock, the i)iIots moor their ships, and these most sacred men, cele- 
brating the holy sacrifice of Mass, with previous confession, distribute the Paschal Lamb to all 
their companions, that is, the sacred communion. . . . M'liat a sijrht do you iinapine this to have 
been ! What joy to these pious and simple men, seekinp God with all their mind and strength ; 
when in so immense a beast they saw the pledpcs offered to their divine Father.'" — (Piiilopono, 
" Christophorus Colombu8,"lG21.) Such is the character of the histories which have given Colum- 
bus his fame, such the incidents they record I 

accident Columbus attributed to the malice of those who fitted 
out the vessel. Fernando, still more unjust, ascribes the acci- 
dent to the " malice of Pinzon," who commanded her, which is 



GOMERA.— TENEEIFFE. 193 

not only ungenerous, but absurd, when we bear in mind that 
Pinzon, more than Cohunbus or the sovereigns of Castile, had 
aided in fitting out the fleet for which " the admiral " had so 
long solicited in vain. 

Columbus, although unable to afford Pinzon any assistance 
in repairing his damaged rudder, yet, flushed with his new-born 
honors, must needs come alongside, " as was the custom for com- 
manders at sea." Martin Alonzo, however, stood in little need 
of assistance ; his ingenuity enabled him promptly to repair the 
damage ; but the imperfect rudder was unable to withstand the 
heavy sea they encountered, and again broke loose. It was there- 
fore considered advisable to seek another vessel at the Canaries. 
Columbus for this purpose put in at the island of Gomera. Here 
he found no ship available, but was told that the Lady Beatrix 
Bobadilla was expected shortly with a vessel of forty tons bur- 
den ; he, therefore, deeming such a vessel suitable for his under- 
taking, determined to wait for and impress it into his service, to 
replace the damaged Pinta. 

The Lady Beatrix, sailing earlier than was expected, Colum- 
bus was balked in his design upon her ship ; he therefore re- 
joined the Pinta at the Grand Canary, and ordered her repaired. 

There is a trifling incident, during the transit from one island 
to another, which may prove how persistently facts are distorted 
by historians to magnify the glory of Columbus. 

Fernando tells us that the Peak of Teneriffe in eruption was 
discerned by the seamen, and they admired thereat. This simple 
statement has been exaggerated by subsequent writers, till Mr. 
L'ving, whose narrative is taken principally from that of Fer- 
nando, tells us that the men were terrified until reassured by 
Columbus. 

There is certainly but little necessity for coloring Fernando's 
history of his father : that Mr. Irving did not think so is, how- 
ever, rendered manifest by his converting the " men admired " 
into the men '''•were terrifiedP Putting this exaggeration of 
Fernando's statement aside, it is absurd to suppose that sailors 
who had navigated the Mediterranean, as did most Spanish sea- 
men at that time, and who were therefore familiar with the vol- 
canoes of Etna and Vesuvius, should have been so terrified at 
beholding a phenomenon of like nature. 

The Pinta being repaired, the three little vessels once more 



194 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

put to sea, touching at Gomera for provisions, and finally losing 
sight of land on the 9tli of September, 1402. 

It is needless to follow them in the narrative of Fernando, or 
in Irving's still more highly colored one. The most prominent 
feature of both is the glorification of Columbus ; for this purpose 
they twist and turn circumstances which are detrimental to their 
object till they make them redound to the glory of their hero. 
Yet what was his real object ? 

" What sought he thus afar ? 
Bright jewels of the mine, 
Tlie wealth of seas, the spoils of war. 
The enslavement of his kind." 

The sailors are represented as weeping at the slightest squall, 
trembling in abject terror during a calm, complaining of favor- 
able winds, while Columbus reassures and encourages them. 

We are told that the fleet's crew mutinied and was fain to 
turn back, till overawed by the determination and courage of 
" the admiral ; " that they had even gone so far as to have re- 
solved to throw Columbus overboard, and account for his dis- 
appearance by declaring that he fell into the sea while making 
observations. 

We are not told how Columbus (upon whose authority the 
story was circulated) was informed of these sinister intentions. 
It would seem improbable that the conspirators should have 
made him their confidant, unless indeed they conspired and di- 
vulged the conspiracy from an amiable desire to contribute their 
mite to the aureole with which his biographers have encircled 
the head of Columbus. It needs but little reflection to perceive 
the improbability of this story. Sailors, even when really 
alarmed and in imminent danger, never act in the childish man- 
ner described, but are too absorbed, in their eftbrts to weather 
the storm, to weep or tremble ; and human nature has not 
changed materially since the days of our hero. 

The impossibility of a mutiny is evident, Columbus's own 
log-book showing that Martin Alonzo and Vincent Yanez kept 
their vessels ahead during the whole voyage (and were obliged 
constantly to " lie by for the admiral ") ; this they would scarce 
have done had they desired to turn back. 

Martin Alonzo first observed that the current had drifted 
them northward of the islands laid down in the chart of the dead 



FALSE RECKONmG, 195 

pilot. To this he drew the attention of Cohimbus ; the latter, 
with characteristic false pride, refused to alter his course, lest he 
should appear more ignorant than Pinzon, and lessen his own 
importance. 

At this, the men on board his ship may indeed have mur- 
mured. They knew, as did Columbus, that they were bound for 
a given point, and when they heard their commander refuse to 
sail toward that point, when borne too far north of it by the 
ocean-current, of which he was ignorant, for the paltry reason 
that his mistake had been discovered by another, it is but natural 
they should have felt indignant. 

In his desire to appear the sole navigator of the expedition, 
Columbus gives himself undue credit for deceit : he alleges that 
he kept one log-book for himself, containing a true reckoning, 
another containing a false, for the purpose of deceiving his crew, 
in which he diminished the distances made each day, that they 
might not lose courage at the vast distance they had sailed. Ko 
doubt our hero would have relished this deception, but it is to 
be feared that in this case we must take the will for the deed, as 
there is too much contradictory evidence to any such proceeding. 
Both the Pinzons were skillful navigators, each of them com- 
manded a caravel, and they were generally ahead. They natu- 
rally made frequent observations ; the pilots also could not have 
been so easily deceived. Should we, therefore, give credence to 
this story, we must make the Pinzons, the pilots, and officers, par- 
ties to the fraud, an imputation for which there is no basis save 
the statement of Columbus. Besides, if the latter had thus de- 
ceived his crew, it would have rendered another of his state- 
ments futile. On leaving the Canaries he declared that, when 
they had sailed seven hundred and fifty leagues west, they should 
reach land. The false reckoning and its diminished distances, in 
leading the men to believe they were farther from their des- 
tination than they really were, and that the voyage would be 
prolonged beyond their expectations, would therefore have de- 
feated his avowed object. For these reasons we believe this de- 
ception to have existed only in the imagination of Columbus, 
who in vanity would make it appear that he alone in that first 
expedition possessed the courage necessary for so arduous an un- 
dertaking, and sufficient knowledge to make correct calculations. 
He contradicts the latter inference, however, by his own state- 



196 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



ment, contained in his journal for September 17, 1402, in -wliicli 
he writes that he ordered the pilots to make an observation of 
the heavens. The idea that skillful pilots and captains could be 
deceived by false reckonings is too absard for belief. 

"When Columbus finally consented to adopt the more south- 
erly course recommended by the Pinzons, the signs of land mul- 
tiplied, whereupon he declared that he had always proposed to 
find hnd just there. Fernando relates that he made the crew an 
impressive speech to this etiect, when signs of land became so 
numerous as to be incontestable, calling upon all to remember 
how he had commanded, upon leaving the Canaries, that, after 



JO ^ 




KOCTTE PrKSUED BY CoLUMBUS ON HIS FlEST VoTAGE. 



sailing seven hundred leagues westward, they should lie by from 
midnight till morning lest they should run upon land unawares. 
This harangue must have lost its intended effect of inspiring the 
hearers with an exalted idea of the speaker's infallibility, when 
they remembered that but for the Pinzons he would have drifted 
far north of the islands to which he professed to be sailing, and 
of the location of which he was so certain. 

" He now desired the men to keep a lookout for land, prom- 
ising him who should first descry it a doublet of velvet in addi- 
tion to the thirty crowns a year to be awarded by the sovereigns 
to the first discoverer." 



TPvIANA DEFRAUDED BY COLUMBUS. 197 

Tliis promise lie was very certain not to be called upon to 
fulfill, as lie had evidently fully determined to defraud whomso- 
ever should rightfully earn either reward. 

At ten o'clock of that same night, which was that of October 
11, 1-192, " the admiral" thought he saw a light ashore, but said 
it was so blind he could not aflBrm it to be land ; he therefore j9W- 
vately called Peter Gutierrez, groom of the chamber to the 
king, who saw it. He then called Roderigo Sanchez de Segovia, 
who, probably " through malice, and a desire to rob Columbus 
of his well-earned fame," could not see it. 

Be this as it may, Columbus made no demonstration ; his 
crew knew nothing of what he alleges to have transpired. At 
two o'clock the next morning, the Pinta, "being far ahead," 
fired a gun, in signal of land, which was first discovered by one 
Juan Eodrigues Bermejo, generally called Roderigo de Triana. 
This mariner, who so justly earned the reward, was, however, de- 
frauded, and the pension granted to Columbus because he had 
seen a light in darkness, signifying the spiritual light he was to 
spread in these dark regions. 

This spiritual light seen by Columbus at ten o'clock in the 
evening is evidently but an invention for the purpose of increas- 
ing his revenue at the expense of a poor sailor. The story rests 
solely upon the testimony of Columbus. Peter Gutierrez, who 
was so privately called, and who is said to have seen the light, 
was one of the unlucky crew left in the island of Hispaniola and 
massacred before the return of Columbus. It was, therefore, 
safe to make him a witness, as he could afiirni or refute nothing. 
According to his own showing, Columbus was in the rear of the 
Pinta, we will suppose two leagues, which is a reasonable esti- 
mate, as it is stated that the Pinta was far ahead ; add four hours' 
sailing before the wind, at the rate of, say, ten miles an hour, and 
the two leagues the Pinta was distant from land when she fired 
the gun, and we have a distance of over fifty miles from the 
point at which Columbus invented his spiritual light, and the low, 
flat shore of the island of San Salvador. The vessels of Colum- 
bus were small ; the globular form of the earth would render a 
torch in the hands of a m.an upon shore invisible to those on 
board Columbus's craft even at half the distance they were from 
land on the evening of October 11th. Irving, who perceived the 
inconsistency, very justly observes : "Had Columbus seen a light 



198 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

ahead, four liours' swift sailing would have brought him high and 
dry upon the shore ; while, on the other hand, had he seen a 
light in any other direction, it is scarcely probable he would 
have sailed from it." Besides which, he says nothing till after 
the signal from the Pinta, when he claims the reward which, in 
common justice, belonged to Roderigo de Triana, and which was 
paid Columbus yearly at the shambles of Seville ; an indication, 
it would seem, of the ignominious means by which he obtained 
it. The whole fraud is too palpable to leave a doubt as to its 
perpetration. Indeed, his son seems to have had some misgiv- 
ings as to the apparent probability of the story ; so he once more 
brings in the superhuman, and causes his father to perceive a 
spiritual light from a point at which no real light could have 
been distinguished by mortal vision, as all who have carefully 
observed the swell of the ocean will bear witness.'" 

^ Navarrete, in one of his observations (vol. iii., p. 612) on the testimony in the 
lawsuit between Diego Columbus and the crown, notes the impossibility of Columbus 
having seen a light. He writes: "The admiral says that '■this island'' (Guanahani, or 
San Salvador) 'is very flat, without any mountain.^ How then can he pretend to have 
seen, .at ten o'clock at night, at a distance of fourteen leagues, a light which rose and 
fell on a flat shore destitute of elevations ?" A note is here inserted by Navarrete, to 
the following effect : " Calculating by the table of tangents of the horizon according to 
the altitude of the point from which they advanced, and supposing the vision of the 
observer to be elevated twelve feet (Burgos) above the level of the sea (which is as 
much as can be supposed, when the smallncss of the caravels is borne in mind), tlie 
result is, that the land must have had an elevation of twenty-two hundred and 
fifty-four feet above the level of the sea, for its summit or highest point to have been 
visible at fotirteen leagues' distance." He continues: " llow is it tliat the men of the 
Pinta, wliich was in advance, did not see it " (the light) " even as they discovered land at 
two in the morning? Why did he not shorten sail and lie-to when, at ten at night, 
he was certain he was near land — as was done when the Pinta sighted it — as prudence 
and reason would have required, when we consider the swift sailing of the ships ? 
Why does he say that at first he saw the light so confusedly that he dared not affirm 
it to be land, as it would appear to few an indication thereof, and that he, nevertheless, 
afterward held it for certain, yet took none of the precautions which such certainty 
of opinion would have required ? Might this not have been the binnacle or some other 
light of the Pinta which was ahead, or of the Nifia, wliich would have been visible at 
another point of the compass (for he does not inform us in whicli direction he saw the 
light) ? — and it might very well have been alternately visible and invisible according as 
tlie ship rose and fell. Those who think that the light seen by Columbus was Wat- 
ling's Island, in the neighborhood of which he must have passed at ten o'clock at 
night, have not considered or traced his route, and seen that, according to this suppo- 
sition, the rate of sailing and the situation of that island, he had, at the hour indi- 
cated, crossed its meridian, leaving it southeast when he was navigating west." 

All this considered, Xavarrete concludes that credence should be given to the 
many witnesses who testified that it was Juan Rodriguez Bermejo (Roderigo de Triana), 



NATIVES SEIZED. I99 

After the signal from the Piiita, the fleet lay by till daylight, 
when the whole expedition landed. After weeping abundantly 
and kissing the ground, with other demonstrations equally ab- 
surd, Columbus named the island San Salvador, taking possession 
for Castile. And then, bidding all swear allegiance to him as 
Viceroy of India, and the crew, we are generally told by histori- 
ans, fawning and kissing the feet of Columbus, beg his forgive- 
ness for all their misdeeds ; which servile scene is as improbable 
as the story of the mutiny is evidently false. 

The natives flocked to the shore, and Columbus, believing 
himself in India, named them Indians, which name the aborigines 
of America still bear, in commemoration of his ignorance or du- 
plicity. They admire and wonder at the white men greatly. 
" The admiral especially," says Irving, " attracted the attention 
of the natives, his commanding height, his air of authority, his 
scarlet dress, together with the attention paid him by his com- 
panions, all pointed him out as ilie man." We presimie that, 
with the naked savage of the forest, the scarlet dress was alone 
sufficient to excite admiration, the other imposing qualities are, 
we believe, gratuitous embellishments on the part of Irving. 

The friendliness of the Indians is amply dwelt upon by Co- 
lumbus and his son, as also their innocence and childlike harm- 
lessness. Seven of them, however, Columbus captured and car- 
ried off" to act as interpreters / and here we remark the extraordi- 
nary gift of language with which Columbus or the Indians (most 
probably the former, who may have added the gift of tongues to 
his other miraculous attainments) are favored. 

Immediately on landing in the midst of a race totally differ- 
ent from any he had hitherto seen, speaking a language which 
bore not the slightest resemblance in formation to those of 
Europe, he nevertheless converses with them, is directed by 
them to lands where gold is found, hears from them of neighbor- 
ing warlike people; in fact, obtains with ease all the information 
he requires. In other words, we are amazed at the falsehoods • 

a sailor on board the Pinta, who first sighted land, and whom the generous and noble, 
minded admiral was mean enough to deprive of his just reward; but refrains from 
one word of censure of Columbus, and merely says, he supposes that the granting of 
the pension to the latter was but " one of those favoritisms so frequent in courts, as 
after the death of Pbizon the influence of the admiral increased and spread." Such is 
the blind partiality with which historians record one of the basest acts of a base 

U 



200 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

of Columbus, who, finding the lands, though fertile, devoid of 
those Asiatic treasures which were the object of the voyage, and 
which Spain prized so highly, and fearing to lose the royal pat- 
ronage, must needs represent them as rich in mines ; pretending, 
that he may be the more readily believed, to have received infor- 
mation to that efiect from tlie natives. 

Bent, above all, upon the acquisition of treasure, he forbade 
all trade with the natives, save for gold, of which he could pro- 
cure but small quantities, but hears or pretends to hear of abun- 
dance in other parts. It is probable the little gold found in the 
island was the particles in the rivers and sands, which the In- 
dians converted into small ornaments. lie confesses that San 
Salvador contained no riches, and proceeds to another island, 
which he named St. Mary of the Conception. Here one of the 
Indians who had been captured at San Salvador escaped to a 
canoe of natives, who paddled ashore and fled to the woods ; the 
canoe was seized by the Spaniards and carried off as a prize. 
" Such," to quote Mr. Irving, "were the gentle and sage precau- 
tions continually taken by Columbus to give the natives a favor- 
able impression of the Spaniards." 

Kext to St. Mary of the Conception, Columbus visits Fer- 
nandina, which he declares the most fertile of all the islands. 
Here he professes to inhale the odors of the rich spices of Asia, 
which he is, however, unable to find, but is told by the ever- 
accommodating natives that they abound to the southwest. 

Here also the veracious admiral informs us nightingales are 
60 numerous as in their flight to darken the sky ! 

The hamacs and cotton aprons of the natives, indications of 
the real wealth of the island, are disregarded or but lightly 
dwelt upon, Columbus being eager to find the gold he was in 
search of. 

Fernandina they leave for Isabella, called by the natives 
Saometto ; hence they proceed to Cuba, which Columbus named 
' Juanna ; this he explored, to what eft'ect we may judge, when 
we read in his own letter to Santangel, which is preserved 
in the archives of Spain, that here are men with tails " (else- 
where he writes of men with dogs' heads) ; that the island is 

»' " One of the provinces is called Cavan. Men having tails arc born there." — 
Columbus's letter to the Escribano de Racion of the islands of the Indies, February 
16, 1493. 



MISSION TO THE GRAND KHAN. 201 

larger tlian England and Scotland, that it abounds in spices, 
mines, etc. 

He declared that lie liad reached the Continent of Asia, and 
Irving relates an incident which here occurred, with so little ap- 
parent consciousness of its reflecting discredit upon Columbus 
that we will give it in his own words : 

" He imagined that he must be on the borders of Cathay, 
and about one hundred leagues from the capital of the grand 
khan. Anxious to delay as little as possible in the territory of 
this inferior prince, he determined not to await the arrival of 
messengers, but to dispatch two envoys to seek the neighboring 
monarch at his residence. 

" For this mission he chose two Spaniards, Koderigo de 
Jerez, and Luis de Torres; the latter a converted Jew, who 
knew Hebrew and Chaldaic, and even something of Arabic, one 
or the other of which languages Columbus supposed might be 
known to this Oriental prince. 

" Two Indians were sent with them as guides, one a native 
of Guanahani, and the other an inhabitant of the hamlet on the 
bank of the river. The ambassadors were furnished with strings 
of beads and other trinkets for their traveling expenses. In- 
structions were given them to inform the king that Columbus 
had been sent by the Castilian sovereigns a bearer of letters 
and a present, which he was to deliver personally, for the pur- 
pose of establishing an amicable intercourse between these pow- 
ers. They were likewise instructed to inform themselves accu- 
rately about the situation and distances of certain provinces, 
ports, and rivers, which the admiral specified by name from the 
descriptions which he had of the coast of Asia. . . . 

"With these provisions and instructions the ambassadors 
departed, six days l)eing allowed them to go and return. j\Iany, 
at the present day, will smile at this embassy to a naked savage 
chieftain in the interior of Cuba, in mistake for an Asiatic mon- 
arch." 

It is not probable that Columbus imagined himself in Cathay. 
His son denies that such was the case, declaring that he never 
mistook the New AYorld for Asia,'^ but that he had sailed, rsjjw- 

'* While censuring one Mr. Rodericlv, Archdeacon of Seville, who with his followers 
"blamed the admiral" for calling those parts Indies which are not Indie?, Fernando 
tells us his father did not give them that name because be reallv thought them to be 



202 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



fessed ambassador to the grand-lclian we know from liis own 
statement, already quoted, in which he decLares this embassy to 
be the object of his voyage. The following is the missive which 
he had undertaken to deliver to the Asiatic prince: 

" Ferdinand cmd Isabella to King 



" Have heard that he and his subjects entertain great love 
for them and for Spain ; are, moreover, informed that he and his 
subjects very much wish to hear from Spain ; send, therefore, 
their admiral, Christopher Columbus, who will tell him that they 
are in good health and perfect prosperity. 

" Granada, April 30, 1492." 




Col.l Mlil S, IN ClliiV, SENDS AX EmBASST TO kS. ASIATIC PRINCE. 

He evidently made some pretense of carrying out this mis- 
sion. "When his messenger returned, instead of glowing ac- 

the Indies, but " because he knew all men were sensible of the riches and wealth of 
India ; and therefore by that name he thoujjht to tempt their Catholic Majesties, who 
were doubtful of his undertaking, tellinf^ them he went to discover the Indies by way 
of the West." — " Historia del. Amirante," chapter vi. 

Ilerrera corroborates this statement thus : " There was no other ground for calling 
this New World by the name of Indies, than the design of the Admiral Christopher 
Columbus to excite the princes he was treating with the more." 



THE PEOPLE OF HAYTI. 203 

counts of flourisliing populous towns, and a civilized, luxurious 
people, they speak of towns composed of five huts, of naked 
though kindly savages, from whom they receive little gold trin- 
kets, and three of whom accompany them on their return. All 
of which, if we are to believe his biographers, did not dissuade 
Columbus from the idea that he was in those opulent regions de- 
scribed by Marco Palo in gorgeous and glowing colors. 

The vessels now left Cuba in search of the supposed Babeque, 
during which search Martin Alonzo became separated from the 
other caravels. At this, Columbus was greatly disconcerted ; he 
seems to have been very dependent upon Pinzon, and, upon the 
departure of the latter, becomes pusillanimously discouraged, alleg- 
ing for every failure in what he had promised or represented, that, 
had Pinzon remained with him, it would have been otherwise. 

Many authors can hardly find sufficient vent for their indig- 
nation at what they term this desertion on the part of Pinzon ; 
but the latter, who had been one of the chief promoters of the 
scheme, can hardly have been expected to take no other part in 
the exploration save that of following Columbus, to whom he 
certainly owed nothing, but who may be said to have owed him 
nearly every thing in the accomplishment of his enterprise. 

It was on the Ttli of December that Columbus first landed on 
the beautiful island of Hayti, which was thenceforward to be the 
chief scene of his inhumanity and crime. 

Here were signs of greater civilization ; the ground was cul- 
tivated. The people, however, who fled in aftright, were naked, 
like the inhabitants of the other islands. 

The Spaniards captured a young and handsome woman, whose 
sole apparel was a small gold ornament in the nose ; this, small 
as it was, served to awaken the covetous greed of Columbus. He 
took possession of the island, planting, in sign thereof, a huge 
wooden cross ; the same, perhaps, to which Gomara ascribes such 
miraculous healing powers in after-years. 

Peter Martyr gives a touching and it is believed substantially 
truthful description of the inhabitants of this lovely island, show- 
ing that they had little need of missionaries ; above all, such 
wolves in sheep's clothing as Columbus. 

" It is certain," he writes, " that the land among these people 
is as common as the sun and water ; and, that ' mine and thine,' 
the seeds of all misery, have no place with them. They are con- 



204 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

tent with so little that, in so large a country, they have rather 
superfluity" than scarceness ; so that they seem to live in the 
gulden world, without toil, living in open gardens, not in- 
trenched with dikes, divided with hedges, or defended with 
walls. 

" They deal truly one with another, without laws, without 
books, and without judges. 

" They take him for an evil and mischievous man who taketli 
pleasure in doing hurt to another; and, albeit they delight not 
in superfluities, yet they make provision for the increase of such 
roots whereof they make bread, content with such simple diet, 
whereby health is preserved and disease avoided." "' 

When we read the above, andYemember how all this hapi)i- 
ness and virtue was converted into misery and crime upon the 
advent of the Christian, we might almost fancy the following a 
"leaf from the log-book" of Columbus, so admirably does it 
portray the case : 

" A purple island on our lee 

Of coral-growtli to-day we made, 
And down the simple natives ran, 
Ilalf in surprise and half afraid. 
■ 'Poor heathen souls! ' our chaplain cried, 
And all his mission zeal awoke ; 
A boat was lowered, he shot the reefs, 
And singled out a chief and spoke : 

" ' "We come ' he said, ' across the seas, 

From a great land, that soars suhlimo, 
Rich in a faith direct from God 

And in the garnered spoils of time ; 
There man is great and woman fair. 

And all in life and death are free. 
And wealth and culture make the earth 

"What God designed his earth to be.' 

'"Religion there has lost its taint, 

No superstition clouds the mind ; 
We either worship God or saint. 

Or both are in one creed combined. 
All mysteries are narrowed down — 

TVe have no doubt of right or wrong — 
Mere questions about bread and wine. 

And burning candles all day long! 

" Peter Martyr, "Decade I," book iii. 



1! 



LEAF FROM A LOG. 205 

'"Science has made us wise as gods, 

Has made us strong and potent too, 
Happy as well, I need not add, 

Since there is naught we cannot do. 
Each word — our land is great in words — 

By courier through the empire flies, 
TVe ride on horses and on mules, 

And that must make us good and wise. 

" ' Our rich are favorites of Heaven ; 

Each seeks the other to outvie. 
By trying to create a want, 

Or wants created, to supply. 
Their virtues make them shining lights. 

Their vices public service aid ; 
Luxurious living scatters wealth. 

And wanton waste is good for trade.' 

" ' These men are blest ! ' the savage cried, 

' Favored of Fortune o'er and o'er ; 
But all your people are not rich ? ' 

'"Well, no, of course, we have our poor: 
Their toil is hard, their food is scant. 

But then they clearly understand 
That God designed them to be thus, 

And not to perish from the land. 

" ' '^0 doubt some hunger day by day, 

Some toil on toil incessant heap ; 
But they have all one day of rest. 

Besides the rest they get in sleep ! 
And they are taught that work exalts. 

That toil the lot of man will leaven. 
And, failing happiness on earth, 

They can make sure of it in heaven. 

" ' And then ' — ' Ko more ! ' the savage cried, 

' Hence ! to your favored nation go. 
Leave us our skies, our shores, our sea, 

The simple freedom that we know, 
Leave us long days of happy ease, 

]S"ot toilsome weariness of breath ; 
Leave us a life tha£ is a life, 

And not endurance filched from death.' " ^* 

** This poem, entitled "A Leaf from a Log," appeared in an English periodical of 
recent date. We have slightly altered the fourth verse, in order to render it appli- 
cable to the epoch of Columbus, 



206 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

"When the natives had overcome their instinctive fear, their 
reception of the Spaniards was most kindly. A delegation of 
the latter was sent to explore the interior, and returned full of 
praises of the hospitality they had received; still, there w^ere 
no signs of gold in abundance. Columbus, indeed, heard reports 
of banners of wrought gold, of pearls and precious stones, but, 
beyond a few trinkets from the natives, he can procure nothing. 
He understands, however, that, in another region, there is abun- 
dance, lie receives some masks, with eyes and cars of gold, and 
some plates of gold, which are "very thin." 

On the 24th of December, while lying off the coast of His- 
paniola (which was the name he gave Ilayti), " it pleased the 
Lord, seeing me gone to bed," writes Columbus, " and we being 
in a dead calm — and the sea as still as water in a dish — all the 
men went to bed, leaving the helm to a grumete (apprentice). 
Thufi it came to pass that the current easily carried away the 
ship upon one of those shoals which, though it was night, made 
such a roaring noise that they might be heard and discovered a 
league off." 

Here the vessel struck ; several of the crew lowered a boat and 
fled to the other caravel. Columbus, perceiving imminent dan- 
ger, as the tide was ebbing, ordered the masts to be cut down, 
but this tardy precaution was in vain. The St. Martha, the best 
and largest of the caravels, was completely wrecked. Vincent 
Yanez Pinzon refused to receive the fugitive crew on board the 
Nina. They therefore returned to the wreck, and Columbus 
bade them seek the king of that part of the country, and inform 
him of the disaster, telling him the vessel had been lost in an at- 
tempt to visit and serve him, and begging his assistance. This 
he did, that he might make the chief feel in a measure responsi- 
ble, and secure his aid, with that of his followers, to transport 
the goods from the wreck ashore. There was no necessity for 
this lie, as the well-disposed, kindly natives would have probably 
tendered all the assistance in their poorer to the strangers they 
had so hospitably received without it, but Columbus could never 
persuade himself to adopt a straightforward course where a 
crooked one was possible. 

To his appeal the good Guacanagari responded, not only by 
sending all the canoes and men he could muster to transport the 



LA NAVIDAD. 207 

freight asliore, but himself standing guard while this was being 
done, that all might be safely delivered to the Spaniards. 

The sheer carelessness and incapacity of Columbus, in thus 
losing his vessel in a dead calm, are fully demonstrated. We do 
not wonder he had need of the skill and superior know-ledge of 
Martin Alonzo Pinzon. In his relation of the accident, he again 
shows the inconsistency which characterizes him. "We are first 
told that the current carried the ship to the shoal ; then that the 
sea was ebbing from the shoal, so that the ship could not move. 
Thus did the elements combine and change at his will, that he 
might appear blameless in the disaster. 

The hospitality and the gentle nature of the savages, who 
are the subjects of the many eulogiums pronounced by Colum- 
bus, Peter Martyr, and others, together with the loss of his ves- 
sel, which would render it almost impossible for the whole crew 
to return to Spain, determined him to form a colony at the 
spot where he had landed, which he called La l^avidad. Here 
a fortress was built from the remains of the wreck, " strong 
enough," says Columbus, " to subjugate the whole island." 

He also writes in his letter to Santangel, that La Kavidad is 
conveniently situated for commerce with the grand-khan, and 
with the continent ; and also oflfers great facilities for the export 
of slaves, showing thus early what were his designs upon the 
simple natives he so much extolled." 

His preparations being complete, and some forty men having 
been selected to remain in the island, in charge of the fortress, 
under Peter Gutierrez and Diego de Arana, orders were given 
them by Columbus to collect as much gold as possible against 
his return. He then determined no longer to delay his depart- 
ure for Spain ; he feared that Pinzon would arrive there before 
him, and complain of him or speak against the entei'prisc. Like 
all guilty consciences, he feared an informer ; and, though Pinzon 

^5 "Has taken possession of all the islands in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella 
■who can dispose of them as absolutely as of the kingdom of Castile. Has taken 
possession of a place in the island of Hispaniola, which is very well situated for com- 
merce with the continent and with the grand-khan. He baptized the town Navidad. 
Has fortified it. . . . Has made the king his best friend, so that he is very proud of 
the settlement. But even should the natives change their minds, they would be un- 
able to do any harm to the garrison. . . . The garrison would suffi(;e to destroy the 
whole island. . . . Slaves might be exported to any extent which might be wanted." — 
Christopher Columbus to the Escribano de Radon, February 15, 1493. 



208 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

would not he likely to represent as a failure an enterprise in 
wliich lie had so miicli involved, lie may have had it in his power 
to expose many evil or absurd doings on the part of Columbus. 
This the latter resolved he should have no opportunity of doing. 
He therefore bade farewell to Guaeanagari, and, to inspire the 
natives with awe for the war-implements of the Spaniards, Fer- 
nando tells us his father shot a bullet at the ship, which passed 
right through it and fell into the water. What ship was thus 
treated we are not told ; the material of the wrecked St. Martha 
had been employed in building the fortress, and it is improbable 
that Columbus would have thus riddled a hole in the Kiila, his 
only remaining ship. Fernando tells us also that his father 
showed the natives swords and rapiers, and other arms, out of 
which statement Mr. Irvino;'s brilliant and vivid ima^cination 
conjures up a princely entertainment of tournaments and mock 
fights, which it is scarcely probable the crew of the little cara- 
vels would have been competent to enact. 

Columbus now set sail on his return voyage. Before leaving 
Ilispaniola he was hailed by the Pinta, and, though excessively 
indignant with Pinzon, we are told that he restrained his wrath, 
knowing that, should an open quarrel take place, the greater por- 
tion of the crew would side with Pinzon. lie pretended that 
Pinzon had traded for much gold, which he appropriated to him- 
self and crew. How Columbus acquired this information re- 
mains a mystery ; the crew of the Pinta would hardly have re- 
vealed a secret so profitable to themselves, still less would 
Pinzon himself have made the confession. 

Although tlolumbus had himself seized more tlian a dozen 
natives to carry to Spain, he insisted that four which Pinzon had 
on board should be sent back to their native land. Petty spite 
and envy, together with that base ingratitude, common to all 
little minds, wliicli causes them, when under deep obligations 
(as was Columbus to Pinzon), to seek some excuse for quarrel, 
that they may appear justified in forgetting past favors, seem to 
have actuated his conduct toward Martin Alonzo. 

Several days were spent among the islands. Columbus saw 
three mermaids,"' and two islands opposite each other, the one 
inhabited solely b}^ women of a warlike nature, the other solely 
by men ; the latter, he recounts, visit the former once a year to 

•• See Columbus's journal ; " Herrera, West Indies," decade i., book ii., chapter i. 



MEJT WITH TAILS AND DOGS' HEADS. 



209 



perpetuate the race : tlie male offspring is sent to the males, and 
the female portion is retained by the Amazonian natives of the 

first isle. 

Irvino- speaking of Columbus's repeated descriptions of these 
islands, a'lid of many other falsehoods of which he was guilty- 
such as reporting encounters with mermaids, men with tails, 
dogs' heads, one eye, together with his assertions that the small 




Things seen by Coldmbits on nis First Voyage.— (Grouped from De Bi-y.) 

island of San Salvador contained a harbor capable of holding all 
the ships in Christendom, besides other embellishments, such as 
hearing the song of the nightingale, unknown in the Western 
Hemisphere— indulgently states that he was constantly deluding 
himself into the belief that his best hopes were realized, that he 
was in Asia. It would certainly appear, however, from the testi- 
mony of his son, already quoted, Herrera, and others, that Co- 
lumbus was the deluder^ not the deluded, and that these fables 



210 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



were invented by him as seeming corroborations of bis state- 
ment that he had been in those regions described by Marco 
Polo. AVe do not see how one M'ho pretends to have seen Avhat 
never existed, can be called self-deluded. By this mild expedient 
all extravagant tales of travel and adventure need no longer "be 
regarded as false. Sindbad the sailor, Baron Munchhausen, Gulli- 
ver, might merely have been self-deluded men, who believed im- 
plicitly in the truth of their own stories ; at any rate, the same 
credence should be vouchsafed to them as to the creator of 
fables of mermaids, tailed and one-eyed men, Amazons, men 
with dogs' heads, etc., etc. 

AVliile coasting round Ilispaniola, the Spaniards encountered 
a warlike tribe of natives, difi'ering wholly from the gentle creat- 
ures they had hitherto dealt with. The first skirmish here took 
place between the Indians and Christians. The former were 
routed. Their chief, after sending Columbus the wampum-belt of 
peace, visited him, and on returning to his home sent him a coro- 
net of gold for a present. Columbus continued to sail west for 
some time, in search of the island of the Caribs, but finally re- 
solved to return with all haste to Spain. A favorable wind aris- 
ing, the prows of the two caravels were therefore turned eastward. 




CHAPTER XIII. 



HOMEWARD VOYAGE, 



Feom the outset of this voyage, Cohimbus, according to most 
historians, encountered the most terrible storms that ever tossed 
helpless mariner upon the huge billows of the deep ; other 
storms have raged, and will rage, but none so awful — they would 
have us believe — as those which assailed our hero on his home- 
ward voyage. 

Even after the vessels had emerged from the tract swept by 
the trade-winds, the storm continued, and Columbus sought to 
propitiate Heaven by holy vows. First, he and his crew cast 
lots, which of them should make a pilgrimage to our Lady of 
Guadaloupe. The lots consisted of as many beans as there were 
men — on one of the beans a cross had been marked — he who 
drew this one performed the pilgrimage. The admiral drew 
first, and the lot fell to him. Twice more were lots cast, and 
once again the lot falls to Columbus, but, the storm not abating, 
the whole crew made a vow that they would go barefoot in their 
shirts to a shrine dedicated to the Virgin, at the first land they 
should reach. 

Columbus, during this voyage, "sought to confuse the pilots 
in their reckoning, so that he alone might possess a clear knowl- 
edge of the route," a proceeding which elicits any thing but cen- 
sure from his biographers. 

The Pinta, scudding before the strong south wind which pre- 
vailed, became separated from the other vessel, and was soon lost 
sight of altogether. The waves ran high, and the Nina, accord- 
ing to Fernando and others, was in imminent danger for want 
of ballast, so that Columbus ordered the empty water-casks to be 
filled with sea- water. 



212 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



The various accounts of the terrible weather which prevailed 
are very apochr^-phal, inconsistency and contradiction being con- 
stantly apparent; thus, while the son and the majority of histo- 
rians report that the ship was too light, and had to be ballasted 
as above, Columbus, in his letter to Santangel, speaking of this 
same storm, makes no mention of any such expedient, but says, 
on the contrary, that the sliip had to be lightened by throwing 
the cargo overboard. It is difficult to decide which account is 
truthful, or whetlier either of them is to be believed. 

We are next told of Columbus's expedient, when in imminent 
danger, for making the world acquainted with his discovery. 




ASEEST OF THE CrEW ABOUT TO PERFORM THEIB PlOrS VoW IN TITE Isi.AXP OF St. MaBT. 

He wrote, according to his own statement, a detailed acr-ount of 
the voyage, describing the situation of the islands, their re- 
sources, etc., sealed and addressed it to the king, wrap]ied it in a 
waxed cloth, placed the whole in the centre of a cake of Avax, and, 
passing the package through the bung-hole of an empty cask, 
which he stopped up, cast it into the sea. This story is, to say 
the least, improbable ; and its improbability, together with the 
inconsistency of the reports as to the ballast, leads us to believe 
that this terrific storm was magnified and exaggerated, to make 
Columbus appear the greater in nautical skill, ingenuity, and 
pious endurance 



COLUMBUS'S CREW ARRESTED. 213 

The Nina finally readied the island of St. Mary (one of the 
Azores), where a detachment of the crew was sent ashore, minus 
all clothing save their shirts, to accomplish the pious vow above 
recorded. 

The governor of the island, Castaiieda, had known Colnmbiis 
in his former days of piracy, and, upon perceiving this motley 
crew parading the streets in such unseemly guise, and learning 
imder whom they sailed, he may not improbably have imag- 
ined a piratical enterprise. He had the whole detachment 
arrested, and their boat seized. Upon Columbus indignantly 
remonstrating, and declaring that he was sailing in the service of 
the crown of Spain, the governor, at first incredulous, finally 
sent officers on board to examine the papers of the quondam 
pirate. Rather to his surprise, the assertions of Columbus were 
found to be correct, whereupon the men were released, the boat 
restored, the crew supplied with provisions, and Columbus him- 
self treated with all courtesy and kindness. These are the bare 
facts in the case, which Fernando and his successors do not fail 
so to embellish as to make the proceeding rather magnify the 
glory of Columbus than otherwise. 

The former relates that the King of Portugal had ordered 
the arrest of the " admiral," that Spain might be deprived of his 
services. "We read, moreover, that, upon the governor's refusal 
to release his men and boat, "the admiral" made a solemn 
vow, which he called his whole crew to witness, that he would 
not depart thence " till he had taken one hundred Portuguese, to 
carry them into Castile, and destroyed all the island." 

All this is related in such high-flown language as to inspire 
the reader with an exalted idea of the dignified defiance of " the 
admiral." But, when we remember that forty men of this small 
expedition had been left in Hispaniola ; that the Pinta, the larger 
of the two remaining vessels, was on her way to Spain, separated 
from Columbus ; and when we read, in the same chapter " 
which records his vow to take prisoners and devastate an island, 
that he had but three able seamen left on board, and that he 
v.'as without a boat, his threat savors much of the Bombastes 
Furioso. 

As to the pretended orders from the King of Portugal to 
arrest Columbus, had any such been issued, the commissions and 

^ Fernando, " Historia del Amirante," chapter xxxix. 



214 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

papers of the admiral would have had little power to induce the 
governor to disobey them. 

The arrest was nuide by Castafieda on his own authority, he 
having been acquainted with Columbus's piratical antecedents," 
but, on learning that the latter was "leading a new life," he re- 
leased his men without further ado. 

"We, moreover, learn from Fernando how " the admiral " in- 
formed the people of St. Mary that he was Viceroy of the Indies, 
which he had discovered, whereat they are reported to have been 
greatly elated. 

That Cohimbus was absurdly boastful, wc are ready to be- 
lieve. Like iiW jxu'venus, he could not remain silent as to his rank 
and achievements, lest perchance they should be ignored ; but 
we are less ready to believe that the Portuguese of St. Mary 
rejoiced so exceedingly because an adventurer in the employ of a 
rival power had visited certain lands, of what importance soever 
they might be. 

Columbus, after a short sojourn at St. Mary, resumed his 
homeward voyage. Another storm arose, another vow was made, 
and lots are cast to determine who shall go barefooted, in his 
shirt (a costume which seems to have been a favorite with our 
hero), on a pilgrimage to the Virgin of Iluelva, and spend the 
night upon his knees before the shrine ; again the lot falls upon 
Columbus, " God showing thereby," says his son, " that his otier- 
ing was more acceptable than those of the others." 

Las Casas gives a somewhat different explanation ; he says: 
" Thus again was expressed the disapproval of his proceedings by 
Providence ; and that these repeated visitations were sent, in 
punishment, for his having torn from their home the unfortunate 
natives who were on board the Nina." 

Did we believe in the miraculous, we should consider the lat- 
ter explanation by far the more valid of the two ; but it was evi- 
dently a trick of Columbus, whereby he might increase his pious 
reputation, and gain credit with the Church. It M-as not difficult, 
we prcsmne, for him to draw out what he already held, and the 
frequent repetition of the farce makes it evident that he had the 
marked bean in his hand, and thus manceuvrcd, that he might 
appear miraculously to di-aw it every time, in testimony that his 
offering was the most acceptable. 

»8 A. B. Becher, " Landfall of Columbus," p. 208. 



BOASTFUL CONDUCT OF COLUMBUS. 



215 



The tempest was still at its heiglit when the vessel sighted 
land, which proved to be the rock of Lisbon. Here Columbus 
was obliged to put in, because of the fury of the storm ; and, not 
content with enlarging to the people upon the unheard-of wealth 
of the countries he had discovered, he spread, or caused to be 
spread, abroad a report that the Niiia was loaded down with 
gold. And then he wrote to the King of Portugal, informing 
him of his discoveries, and demanding permission to go on to Lis- 
bon, averring that he would be more safe, as the report concern- 
ing the gold might tempt the people, where he then was, to 
rob him. 




C0I.TrMBTJ8 BEFORE THB SuEINE OF THE ViKGIN, 



"We are not surprised, knowing the boastful, false pride of the 
man, to find him contemptibly elated at being thus able to flaunt 
his discovery in the face of a prince who had refused to engage 
in it ; but the arrogance and boastfulness of the pirate, become 
admiral, exceed all belief. 

"Wlien an officer summoned him to give an account of him- 
self, he replied, that the king's admirals were not obliged to 
obey such summons, and it was with difficulty he was persuaded 
to show his papers ; but upon his doing so, if we believe his son, 

these very Portuguese, toward whom he is bearing himself thus 
15 



216 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

hauehtilv, come in all humllitv with fifes and drums to receive 
him. The people of Portugal rejoice with exceeding great joy- 
that their rival Spain has acquired new territory, and, according 
to this admiral, endless riches. They might indeed have envied, 
but it was not in human nature to rejoice. The whole of this 
enthusiasm was evidently invented by Columbus and his son, 
and but too greedily caught up and exaggerated by subsequent 
■writers. 

Irving, after the brilliant account he gives of the reception 
of Columbus in Portugal, and of the honors paid him there, 
somewhat inconsistently adds : 

" His rational exultation was construed into an insulting 
triumph, and they accused him of assuming a boastful tone 
when talking with the king of his discoveries, as if he would re- 
venge himself upon the monarch for having rejected his proj^o- 
sition. . . . 

" The Portuguese historians, in general, charge Columbus with 
having conducted himself loftily with the king. . . . Faria y 
Souza, in ' Europa Portuguesa,' goes so far as to say that Colum- 
bus entered into the port of Pastello merely to make Portugal 
sensible, by the sight of the trophies of his discovery, how much 
she had lost by not accepting his propositions." 

Knowing what we do of the character of Columbus, far from 
considering this view of the case exaggerated, we should have 
been sui-prised had he not so conducted himself. What surprises 
us is, that historians should represent the King of Portugal as 
humbling himself to the utmost, notwithstanding all this flaunt- 
ing arrogance. He invited (we read) Columbus to see him ; the 
latter (always magnifying his own importance, and always a 
coward) feared that his assassination was intended, but finally 
condescended so fiir as to visit the monarch. The latter (accord- 
ing to the universally-repeated story) bade him sit in his pres- 
ence, don his cap, and of course, that the importance of the 
affair may be complete, insinuated that this great conquest be- 
longed by right to Portugal, etc., etc. The most prominent man 
of the kingdom was assigned as the host of Columbus ; the 
queen earnestly entreats him not to pass her by without visiting 
her ; in short, this ci<levcmt pirate (should we believe his son 
and other biographers) is, at the court of the monarch who had 
refused his services on account of his exorbitant claims, and 



HIS CONDUCT CENSUEABLE. 



217 



from whose dominions he had ignominiously fled, a second Mor- 
decai, the man "whom the king delighteth to honor!" 

Allowing this extremely improbable relation to be true, and 
Columbus to have received these honors, it was wanting in good 
taste and delicacy for him to accept them ; his reporting his dis- 
coveries to another and rival monarch, before doing so to the 
sovereigns who had employed him, was itself an act deserving 
the severest censure, and which no desire to excite the envy and 
regret of Portugal can justify or palliate. 




Rabo de Jonco. 



CHAPTER XIY. 

AKRIVAL IN SPAIN, AND EECEPTION AT BARCELONA. 

Columbus remained in Lisbon ten days ; and finally, on Fri- 
day, tlie 15tli of March, 1-193, arrived at the port of Palos, seven 
months and eleven days having elapsed since his departure 
therefrom, August 3, 1492. 

Here, on the same day, Martin Alonzo Pinzon anchored be- 
fore his native town. He had sent the sovereigns word of his 
return, but they had already received a dispatch from Columbus, 
at Lisbon, in which he had basely enlarged upon what he termed 
the " insubordination of Pinzon." The latter, therefore, received 
a prohibition to appear at court, which so deeply wounded his 
pride, and so bitterly reminded him of the ingratitude of men, 
that he returned to his home, sick at heart and in body. He 
shortly after died, it is said, of a broken heart, caused by the 
manner in which the sovereigns rewarded him for having 
bravely embarked in the enterprise at its unpromising outset, 
and at the. return Columbus gave him for having protected him 
in adversity, supplied him with the funds without which he was 
powerless to carry out his scheme, and finally accompanied him 
to encourage an unwilling crew. Thus died a man both good 
and brave, a victim to the ingratitude of one who possessed 
neither of these qualities. 

Time and history will each year show the name of Pinzon 
in a foirer light, while, should justice and truth obtain, that of 
Columbus Avill each year lose more and more of its borrowed 
lustre. 

Leaving his broken-hearted benefactor to die, "the admiral" 
started from Palos to present himself to the sovereigns at Bar- 
celona. He was a month in reaching his destination ; " being 



JOURNEY TO BARCELONA. 



219 



obliged," says his son, " to stay some little, by the way, though 
but never so little," to gratify the curiosity of the people in the 
cities through which he passed. We presume it required little 
persuasion to induce the admiral to make all the parade in his 
power. 

Fernando, in his life of his father,°* would have his readers 
believe that there was much joy in Barcelona upon the arrival 
of the latter. His statement is indorsed by Herrera, but Mr. 
Irving gives a still more glowing account of the transaction. 




CnEiSTornEK CoLUMBtis.— (From llerrera's " West Indies") 



For various reasons we believe, however, that no such dem- 
onstration took place as that described by Fernando. These 
reasons are obvious. 

"We will follow the gradual growth in the description of this 
pageant, as it passes from pen to pen, of the authors who vie 
with each other in covering Columbus with glory. 

'^ " Historia del Amirante," chapter xlii. 



220 LIFE OF COLrMBUS. 

The first account seems to have been written by Peter 
Martyr, a contemporary, who, in his correspondence with many 
distinguished persons of the day, noted most of the passing inci- 
dents and events of the Spanish court. 

He thus relates the affair to Fernando de Talavera, Arch- 
bishop of Granada, under date of February 1, 1494 : 

" The king and queen, on the return of Columbus to Barce- 
lona, from his honorable enterprise, appointed him admiral of 
the ocean sea, and caused him, on account of his illustrious 
deeds, to be seated in their presence ; an honor and a favor, as 
you know, the highest with our sovereigns. They have dis- 
patched him again to those regions, furnished with a fleet of 
eighteen ships. There is a prospect of great discoveries in the 
antarctic antipodes." 

This is all that Peter Martyr, the distinguished letter-writer, 
says of a reception which Irving leads us to believe was the talk 
of every tongue, the admiration of a world. 

The next writer in chronological order, who speaks of the 
arrival of Columbus in Barcelona, is his son Fernando. With 
him the account given by Peter Martyr grows somewhat; he 
says : " Thus holding on his way, he got to Barcelona about the 
middle of April, having before sent their Highnesses an account 
of the happy success of his voyage, which was extraordinary 
pleasing to them, and they ordered him a most solemn reception, 
as to a man who had done them such singular service. All the 
court and city went out to meet him ; and their Catholic Majes- 
ties sat in public with great state, on rich chairs, under a canopy 
of cloth-of-gold, and, when he went to kiss their hands, they 
stood up to him as to a great lord, made a difficulty to give him 
their hands, and caused him to sit down." 

Herrera copies substantially from the above, but enlarges 
in his turn ; and, passing over numerous other authors, we come 
to Mr. Irving's admirably-written but delusive history of Colum- 
bus, and find the following : 

" The fame of his discovery had resounded throughout the 
nation, and, as his route lay through several of the finest and 
most populous provinces of Spain, his journey appeared like the 
progress of a sovereign. Wherever he passed, the surrounding 
country poured forth its inhabitants, who lined the road and 
villages. In the large towns, the streets, windows, and balco- 



TEIUMPHAL E:JTTEY INTO BARCELONA. 221 

nies, were filled with eager spectators, who rent the air with ac- 
clamations. ... It was about the middle of April that Colum- 
bus arrived at Barcelona, where every preparation had been 
made to give him a solemn and magnificent reception. 

" The beauty and serenity of the weather in that genial sea- 
son and favored climate contributed to give splendor to this 
memorable ceremony. As he drew near the place, many of the 
more youthful courtiers and hidalgos of gallant bearing, together 
with a vast concourse of the people, came forth to meet and wel- 
come him. His entrance into this noble city has been compared 
to one of those triumphs which the Romans were accustomed to 
decree to conquerors. First, were paraded the Indians, painted 
according to their savage fashion, and decorated with their na- 
tional ornaments of gold. After these were borne various kinds 
of live parrots, together with stuffed birds and animals of un- 
known species, and rare plants, suj^posed to be of precious quali- 
ties ; while great care was taken to make a conspicuous display 
of Indian ornaments, bracelets, and other decorations of gold, 
which might give an idea of the wealth of the newly-discovered 
regions. After this followed Columbus on horseback, surrounded 
by a brilliant cavalcade of Spanish chivalry. The streets were 
almost impassable from the countless multitude ; the windows 
and balconies were crowded with the fair ; the very roofs were 
covered with spectators. It seemed as if the public eye could 
not be sated with gazing on the trophies of an unknown world, 
or on the remarkable man by whom it had been discovered. 
There was a solemnity in this event, that mingled a solemn feel- 
ing with the public joy. It was looked upon as a vast and sig- 
nal dispensation of Providence, as a reward for the piety of the 
monarchs, ... To receive him with suitable pomp and distinc- 
tion, the sovereigns had ordered their throne to be placed in 
public, under a rich canopy of brocade of gold, in a vast and 
splendid saloon. Here the king and queen awaited his arrival, 
seated in state, with the Prince Juan beside them ; and attended 
by the dignitaries of their court, and the princij^al nobility of 
Castile, Valencia, Catalonia, and Aragon, all impatient to behold 
the man who had conferred such incalculable benefit upon the 
nation. At length Columbus entered the hall, surrounded by a 
brilliant crowd of cavaliers. ... As Columbus approached, the 
sovereigns arose, as if receiving a prince of the highest rank. 



222 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Bending his knees he requested to kiss their hands ; but there 
was some hesitation on the part of their majesties to permit 
this act of vassalage, liaising him in the most gracious man- 
ner, they ordered him to seat himself in their presence : a rare 
honor in this proud and punctilious court. At the request of 
their majesties, Columbus now gave an account of the most 
striking events in his voyage, and a description of the islands 
which he had discovered. . . . The words of Columbus M-ere 
listened to with the most profound emotion by the sovereigns. 
"When he had finished, they sank on their knees, and, raising 
their clasped hands to heaven, their eyes filled with tears of joy 
and gratitude, they poured forth thanks and praises to God for 
so great a Providence : all present followed their example, a 
deep and solemn enthusiasm pervaded that splendid assembly, 
and prevented all common acclamations of triumph. The an- 
them of Te Deum laudamus, chanted by the choir of the royal 
chapel, with the melodious responses of the minstrels, rose up 
from the midst in a full body of sacred harmony, bearing up, as 
it were, the feelings and thoughts of the auditors to heaven. . . . 
Such was the solemn and pious manner in which the brilliant 
court of Spain celebrated this sublime event ; oftering up a 
grateful tribute of melodious praise, and giving glory to God for 
the discovery of another world." 

Such events, in which display and pomj) play the greater 
part, are generally most graphically described by contemporaries 
and eye-witnesses, who have the scene yet present to their 
minds ; and these descriptions rather dwindle and weaken as 
they pass from one historian to another. 

How much more distinctly does Froissart bring before us tour- 
naments, processions, and ceremonies of his time, than the sub- 
sequent historians who recount them ; how many details we find 
in his chronicles which conjure up the scene with startling real- 
ity, and which we look for in vain elsewhere : and this is owing, 
not so much to his superior powers of description, as to the fact 
that he was himself a spectator or participant in what he de- 
scribed. But with this reception at Barcelona the reverse takes 
place ; the description increases in detail and coloring as it comes 
down to us, because the imagination, and not the fiicts, play the 
greater part : imagination, from a simple, unadorned statement 
of a prosaic or unimportant fact, will create a wondrous scene. 



TEIUMPHAL ENTRY. 223 

For the writer of fiction and romance this is a ojlorions gift, 
bnt a most dangerous one for tlie historian, who, when pos- 
sessed of it, will too often represent facts as he would have had 
them, rather than as they were. Thus it is that out of the 
words of Peter Martyr (" caused him to be seated in their pres- 
ence") a scene is created which, were we to believe Mr. Irving, 
was the grandest pageant history records. " Behold how great 
a matter a little fire kindleth ! " 

Again, had all Spain gone forth to receive Columbus with 
acclamations, would Martyr, when writing, a year after the oc- 
currence took place, to Fernando de Talavera, confessor to the 
queen, Archbishop of Granada, and member of the royal house- 
hold, speak to him of the return of Columbus as of something of 
which he did not think it likely he would be informed ? Would 
not the ready pen and fluent language of Peter Martyr have 
made the most of such a scene — particularly when w'e consider 
that he is represented as having been intimate with Columbus, 
and is declared by Las Casas to be the highest authority on mat- 
ters relating to the discovery of the Indies, as he received his 
information from Columbus himself? 

Nor are we without further evidence that the description of 
the reception prepared for Columbus at Barcelona is a gratui- 
tous embellishment on the part of modern historians. 

That eminent tourist, antiquarian, and scholar, the late Mr. 
George Sumner, gives the following curious item, which strongly 
corroborates our view of the ease : 

"From the brilliant description given by Irving and Pres- 
cott of the arrival of Columbus at Barcelona, and of his recep- 
tion there by the Catholic sovereigns, it seemed to me as prob- 
able that some contemporary account of the arrival and recep- 
tion, as well as of the sojourn of Columbus, might be found at 
Barcelona; and, while there, in the spring of 1844, I searched 
the admirably-arranged archives of Aragon, and also those of 
the city of Barcelona, for such notice, but without any success. 
I could not so much as find a mention of the name of Columbus. 
The 'Dietaria,' or day-book of Barcelona, notices the arrival of 
ambassadors, the movements of the king and queen, and even 
records incidents of as trifling note as those which in our 
day serve to fill the columns of a court journal ; yet not a 
word appears in regard to Columbus. ... In the ' Dietaria ' of 



224 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Barcelona, under date of 15th of November 1-192, is the follow- 
ing entry : ' The king, queen, and priniogenito, entered to-day 
the city, and lodged in the palace of the Bishop of Urgil in the 
Calle Ancha.' This is followed by a description of the festivities 
which ensued : ' 1493, 4th February, king and queen went to 
Alserat. 14th, king and queen returned to Barcelona.' " 

Thus is another popular error exploded upon which sensa- 
tional historians have drawn so largely for their most striking 
chapters. Few of our readers will perhaps thank us for thus 
stripping Truth of the gay garments wherewith she has been 
decked for tlieir greater delectation and amusement, but the 
truth, naked and prosaic, appears to have been that Cohimbus 
was received by the king and queen at the Calle Ancha, and 
allowed to sit in their presence while he gave the history of 
his voyage. 

He assured their majesties that those whom he had left in 
the island could not fail to collect a ton of gold before his re- 
turn. He dwelt upon the riches he professed to have heard of 
from the natives, and talked largely of being soon able to raise 
such an army as should release the Holy Sepulchre from the 
grasp of the infidel. "Wealth, he declared, was to be gathered 
without cost and without labor. The riches of Asia were at 
the command of Spain. Upon these representations (how false 
we need not repeat) of the glowing success of his expedition, 
the title of admiral was confirmed to him by royal edict,- as well 
as the privileges enumerated at length in the act granting him 
that rank. 

An order, dated Barcelona, 30th of May, 1493, after the 
usual wordy preamble, reads as follows : 

" To honor and promote you and your descendants and 
lineage in perpetuity, we have thought proper, and it is our de- 
sire, and we give you authority to bear on your shield of arms, 
a castle and a lion, which we give you for arms ; that is to say, 
the castle or, on a field vert^ in the dexter quarter ; and in the 
sinister quarter, a lion purpura, rampant, on a field argent ; 
and in the dexter base quarter, some islands or, in waves of the 
sea, and in the sinister base quarter the arms which you are 
accustomed to bear ; which above said arms shall be acknowl- 
edged as yours, and those of your descendants in perpetuity 
hereafter." 



ARMORIAL FICTIONS. 



225 



We have read miicli of the motto — 
" A Castilla y a Leon 
Nuevo mundo dio Colon " — 

and of its being awarded to Columbus by the sovereigns, that he 
might bear it on his arms as some recompense for his mighty 
deeds ; we find it, moreover, inscribed on the existing coat-of- 
arms of the family, by Captain Galardi, in the fulsome dedica- 




tion from which we have already quoted, and from which we 
take the above engraving. It is therefore with some surprise 
that we find no mention of any such motto, not only in the 
above act granting the coat-of-arms, nor in any of the authentic 
documents in which the transactions between our hero and the 
crown are recorded. Nor is it once alluded to by Columbus ; 
vanity would undoubtedly have prompted hira to dwell largely, 
in the latter part of his life, when he had fallen into disgrace, 



226 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

and was vainly seeking to secure some prestige at court, upon so 
striking and public an acknowledgment on the part of the 
sovereigns. 

One of the early historians speaks of the coat-of-arms, as 
above, and says : " To this he" (Columbus) " afterward added 
the motto — 

' To Castile and to Leon 
A new world gave Colon.' " 

Fernando does not even pretend that the device existed in the 
lifetime of his fether, but speaks of it as having been placed on a 
magnificent tomb erected to his memory at Seville. Ko such in- 
scription or tomb is there to be found, and as the reputation of 
Columbus has increased, or rather its glory been wholly created, 
since his death, we may safely presume, had such an inscription 
existed when Fernando wrote the history of his father, it would 
have been preserved to our time. Of this, however, we will 
speak more at length in due season {see Chapter XXYIII.). 

That the motto in question was never granted Columbus as 
the legend of his coat-of-arms, is certain ; whether it was the 
invention of Christopher, or Fernando Columbus, we cannot 
determine ; but that it emanated from the fertile brain of one or 
the other is evident, for, had it been granted him officially, there 
would either be some mention of it in the act granting him a 
coat-of-arms, or, if it were afterward added, some formal state- 
ment to that effect would exist ; but such a statement is not to 
be found. 

With his too evident desire to mystify in all matters where 
the truth might belittle Columbus, Irving, speaking of the coat- 
of-arms, vaguely adds : '" To this was afterward added the 
motto, ' A Castilla,' " etc. 

He does not sar/ it was granted by the sovereigns, but such 
would be the inference of every reader unacquainted with the 
truth. 

The item of the grant which authorized Columbus to bear 
his ovjTi arms on the lower sinister quarter of the escutcheon 
was somewhat superfluous, though none of his biographers men- 
tion the fact. A coat-of-arms was an ensign of nobility, and 
Columbus's most zealous advocate, Spotorno, admits that he 
must have been of ignoble birth, very rationally adding that, had 
it been otherwise, " he" (Columbus) •' would most certainly have 



ARMS OF COLUMBUS. 



227 



boasted of the fact to the haughty Spanish nobles," who could 
never consider the pirate admiral their compeer/"" It is evident 
that he possessed no arms, as the quarter allotted to them was 
filled with several anchors ; this goes far to prove that the much- 
talked-of coat-of-arms was granted rather from necessity than 
as a reward. The Admiral of Spain could not be other than 
noble; none were noble who bore no escutcheon; when, there- 
fore, the rank of admiral, which gave him a place among the 
high-born of Spain, was confirmed to Columbus, the insignia of 
nobility was of necessity added. 

'"'' Spotorno, "Int.," pp. xciii., xciv. 




The Manati, as eepeesested in Philopono.— .See Appendix. 



CHAPTER XY. 



SECOND VOYAGE OF COLOfBUS. 



The golden falsehoods of Columbus fired the cupidity not 
only of the sovereigns, but of many of the Sj^anish Mdalgos ; 
with all haste a dispatch was sent to the Pope (Alexander VI.), 
requesting a grant of the lands discovered, which was imme- 
diately granted. The promptitude with which the sovereign 
pontiff deeded a continent of unknown limits to Spain, can only 
be accounted for by the tact that he was liimself a Spaniard by 
birth, and that, in her zeal for the Church and vigorous prosecu- 
tion of the Inquisition, Isabella might be termed the right arm 
of the Church. 

Is o sooner was the papal grant received, than a fleet of seven- 
teen, according to some — eighteen vessels, according to others — 
was forthwith equipped ; and so many of high and low degree 
were anxious to form part of the expedition, that this time it 
was not a question of compelling an unwilling crew to undertake 
the voyage, but of inducing equally unwilling citizens to remain 
behind. 

On the 25th of September the fleet, well freighted with all 
the necessaries for colonization, and with al)Out fifteen hundred 
Spaniards of all ranks, eager for the wealth Columbus had prom- 
ised, left the port of Cadiz. They proceeded to the Canary 
Islands, on leaving which, Cohimbus gave to the captain of each 
ship sealed instructions containing directions as to the route he 
was to pursue ; these, however, were only to be opened in case 
the ships became separated from Cohimbus by adverse weather ; 
"for," says Fernando, "he did not wish the route to be known, 
unless there was gi'eat need " — another evidence that he regarded 
the enterprise as a secret which had fortunately come into his 



SAN DOMINGO— CANNIBAL SLAVES. 229 

possession for Lis own advancement, and not as the means of 
benefiting humanity or the kingdom of Spain. 

Remembering the current which the unfortunate Pinzon had 
been the first to discover on the previous voyage, this time 
Cohimbus pursued a straight coui-se, and, after twenty days' 
sailing, arrived, on the 3d of JS^ovember, at an island which he 
named San Domingo, after the day of the week, which was Sun- 
day. ISTo inhabitants were seen. Another island was passed, 
and named Mari-galante, after the admiral's ship ; the next, 
Guadalupe, after a monastery in Spain ; this island was large, 
and on the shore they found a village, or settlement, the inhab- 
itants of which had fled, leaving only children. Among various 
things which Columbus reports as having been found in this vil- 
lage, he speaks of an iron pan. Fernando, probably aware at 
the period in which he wrote his history that iron utensils were 
unknown among the natives, makes more explanation than the 
case would seem to require, unless he considered his father's 
reputation for veracity in peril. He conjectures that it might 
have been stone that resembled iron, that it might have come 
from the settlement at Hispaniola, or from the wrecked ships ; 
he seems, in fact, most eager to prove his father truthful — a false- 
hood notwithstanding. 

It is a matter of wonder to the reader of the history of Colum- 
bus, that he did not, upon arriving at the islands, at once pro- 
ceed to the relief of the colony he had left at Navidad ; but the 
reason soon becomes apparent when we read that at Guadalupe 
the admiral sent a boat ashore on the 5th of l!^ ovember, " to take 
somebody to inform him of his whereabouts, and which way 
Hispaniola lay." "' A youth and six women were accordingly 
tnken, and from them Columbus professes to learn that they are 
prisoners of a race of cannibals, who enslaved the women and 
devoured the men they captured in war. 

This is the first time the grave charge of cannibalism is pre- 
ferred against the natives of the New World, a charge which in- 
vestigation and the laws of Nature alike show to be false. The 
Indians in those islands, on the showing of Columbus himself,"^ 

101 (I Historia del Amirante," chapter xlvii. 

'"- In the bull of Pope Alexander VI., deeding the lands to Spain, which is affirmed 
to have been granted solely on the testimony of Columbus, the inhabitants of the islands 
are described as " numerous, live peaceably, and, as it is affirmed, go naked, and feed 
not upon flesh." 



230 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

lived cliiefly upon the nutritious roots which grow in their fer- 
tile homes, a diet which they varied with the fish which were 
found in such abundance in their rivers and along their shores. 
Nothing in the temperature of that region, or the temperament 
of the natives, would lead them to such a practice. 

What, then, were the reasons which induced Columbus to 
prefer against them so monstrous a charge ? 

They are obvious. His enterprise, unless the means of en- 
riching Spain, would avail him nothing in the eyes of that king- 
dom or its sovereigns ; the gold he had promised so largely was 
only forthcoming in the smallest quantities ; the spices of Asia 
were not to be found at all ; he then turned his thoughts toward 
the gentle natives, who — the reminiscences of his experience in 
the Guinea-trade present in his mind — suggested themselves as 
a source of wealth. It was his intention to enslave them from 
the first, as is manifest in his letter to Santangel, written on his 
return from his first voyage, and in which he speaks of the facili- 
ties which the port of Kavidad ofiers for the export of slaves. 
He may have spoken of this to Queen Isabella, who, to do her 
justice, was imwilling, at tlie outset, when she expected to 
acquire wealth of a dilierent nature from these islands, to treat 
her new subjects thus outrageously. 

Columbus, still bent upon the establishment of slavery, 
sought some excuse, therefore, and the most 2:)lausible was, to 
represent his victims as monsters, feeding upon human flesh, 
whom to enslave was to civilize. The story, moreover, would 
appear as a corroborative proof that he was in Asia, as many 
tables were then current reporting the existence of man-eaters in 
the extreme east of the continent ; he would thus accomplish a 
double object. 

Accordingly, on his return to the islands on his second voy- 
age, he prefers the charge ; and the document he dispatched to 
the sovereigns during his second sojourn in Ilispaniola, with the 
comments they made on his propositions, show alike his motive 
and the objections he strove to subvert. 

The first part of this document relates to the necessary pro- 
vision for the colony, and contains excuses for not sending gold, 
together with a request for permission to build a fortress, and to 
all this the sovereigns afiix approbatory remarks. In the seventh 
paragraph Columbus boldly launches into a proposal to cMslave 



SLAVES IIT EXCHANGE FOR CATTLE. 2'31 

the Indians ; lie tells their highnesses he sends therewith some 
cannibals as slaves, to be converted, and taught the Spanish 
language, that they may act as interpreters. He omits no argu- 
ment that might tend to hide the venu of his proposition ; he 
affirms that the Indians of the other islands will greatly rejoice at 
the capture of their enemies. But the sovereigns are not thus to 
be blinded, and to this paragraph, adverting to the proposed con- 
version of the Indians to the Christian faith, they affix this 
comment : " This is well, and so it must be done, but let the 
admiral see whether it could not be managed there, that they 
should be brought to our holy Catholic faith, and the same 
with the Indians of the islands where he is." 

In the next paragraph, Columbus systematizes his project. 
After enlarging on the benelits which will accrue to the souls of 
these monstrous devourers of human flesh, by their enslavement, 
he shows that the islands being in need of cattle and other do- 
mestic animals, a regular system of barter might be established, 
and ships coming to the colony laden with oxen, mules, etc., 
might return to Spain with a cargo of human live-stock, always 
from the cannibal portion of the jjopulation. 

" These cattle," he writes, " might be sold at moderate 
prices, for the benefit of the bearers, and the latter might be paid 
with slaves taken from among the Caribs, who are a wild people, 
fit for any work ; well proportioned, and very intelligent ; and 
who, when they have got rid of the cruel habits to which they 
have become accustomed, will be better than any other slaves." 

In his eagerness to show the value of this live-stock, he for- 
gets, or is unaware that, in praising their intelligence, he fur- 
nishes a powerful argument against the truth of his imputation 
that they ate human flesh, for, wherever the disgusting practice 
has been found to exist, it has always been among human beings 
of the lowest order of intellect, scarce removed from brutes. 
"When they lose sight of their country," continues the admiral, 
" they will forget their cruel practices." This was evidently said 
in order that, when the gentle harmlessness of the poor slaves 
should surprise the Spaniards, they should believe they had only 
become thus gentle and harmless since they left their island- 
homes. He further adds, as a tempting suggestion to the sov- 
ereio-ns : " Their hia^hnesses mio-ht fix duties on the slaves thar 

might be taken over, upon their arrival in Spain." 
16 



232 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Xever was the establisliment of slavery more deliberately 
planned and proposed. Ferdinand and Isabella at once per- 
ceived the enormity of the proposition, and to this paragraph 
they answer: " As regards this matter it is suspended for the 
present, until there come some other way of doing it '' (convert- 
ing the heathen there), "and let the admiral write what bethinks 
of this." A comment which disappointed but did not discourage 
Columbus. He knew the character of his royal mistress too 
well not to be assured that, when the natives should prove to be 
the only means of procuring wealth in the islands, she would 
herself consider their enslavement necessary for the salvation of 
their souls ; and, in effect, though she will never consent to 
their exportation, yet by her order of 1503 she will compel 
them to work, as slaves only are compelled. 

But to return to Columbus. From the six women and boy 
he ca])tured, he asked information as to his whereabouts ; not, 
according to his son, that he did not know the exact situation of 
Ilispaniola, but merely because he wanted to hear what they 
had to say about it. He was now anxious to leave Guada- 
lupe, but, nine of the men having gone ashore without his per- 
mission, he sent Alonzo de Ojeda and forty men to seek them. 
These returned, after a fruitless search, with marvelous accounts 
of the vegetable productions they had seen ; and moreover 
affirmed, according to Columbus, that in traversing six leagues 
they crossed twenty rivers, an exaggeration which is so apparent 
to Fernando that he seeks to palliate his father's statement by 
suggesting that they might have crossed the same river several 
times. The truants found their M'ay back to the ship, and so 
greatly was our humane admiral incensed at their having lost 
their way, that he ordered them put in irons, and their allow- 
ance of food retrenched ! 

They now set sail, and passed several islands, where they 
found coral and other curious productions. " Though the admi- 
ral," says his son, " was very desirous to know every thing, yet 
he resolved to hold on his course to Hispaniola ; but, the 
weather being bad, he came to anchor on Thursday, the 13th of 
November, in an island, where he ordered some Indiana to he 
tahen, to know whereahouls he was." 

He did not finally arrive at Hispaniola till the 21st of No- 
vember ; thus, notwithstanding his anxiety to visit his colony, 



INDIAN'S OAPTUEED TO DIRECT COLUMBUS. 



233 



and his perfect knowledge of its situation, he was nearly a month 
from the time he arrived at San Domingo before he reached the 
same ; he would not stop to examine tlie productions of the va- 
rious islands, yet was continually stopping to capture Indians, 
of whom to inquire his latitude and longitude, of which, says 
the son, he was well aware. Such conduct would have been ab- 
surd. We will believe that Columbus was anxious to rejoin 
those he had left, but the means emplo3^ed show him to have 
been totally ignorant of the location of the island. 

"With the assistance of the natives, he at length succeeded in 
reaching it. He found the fortress, which, he had assured the 




Indian Widows decokatino the Graves op their Slaughtered Husbands with their 
Hair. — (From De Bry's "America.") 

sovereigns, was strong enough to keep the whole island in sub- 
jection, destroyed, and the entire colony massacred. 

The good Guacanagari averred their destruction to be the 
work of a neighboring tribe, that of the powerful Cazique Cao- 
nabo ; but he and all the Indians with one accord proclaimed the 
Spaniards to have made themselves objects of fear and hatred 
throughout the island by their insolence and licentiousness ; they 
also reported them as having quarreled among themselves, and 
dispersed, plundering native villages in small bands, so that 



234 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

their destruction was regarded as an act of self-defense by the 
Indians. 

Thus ominously did the first colony of Spaniards in the 
"Western Hemisphere inaugurate their relations with the natives. 
Their fate was a terrible one, a violent death in a for-off land, 
M'here cries for assistance could reach no fi-icndly ear, and would 
only bring around them their enemies in greater numbers ; ene- 
mies so numerous that their little band dissolved before them 
like snow beneath a summer sun. But, terrible as was their 
death, they had brought it upon themselves ; their enemies were 
the once friendly natives, M-hom they cruelly wronged, and who 
avenged the injuries heaped upon them by the stranger who in- 
vaded their homes, and made them desolate. 



CHAPTEE XYI. 



SETTLEMENTS IN HISPANIOLA. 



Columbus was apparently not so mvicli concerned at the loss 
of his men as he was eager to find the gold which he hoped they 
had collected. He had left orders that, in case they were attacked, 




CnRisTOPnEK Columbus.— (From De Bi^'^s "America.") 

they should throw all the treasure they might have amassed into 
a certain well. This was now carefully searched, but to no pur- 
pose — not a particle of gold was found. Columbus, being thor- 



23G LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

ouglily disgiisted, his opinion of tlie port of Xavidad underwent 
a most radical change. Where before he saw a splendid harbor, 
whose situation afforded every advantage for the establishment 
of a flourishing colony and the building of an opulent city, he 
now perceives only flat, unhealthy ground, where to remain 
would be to perish. This fickleness is apparent throughout Co- 
lumbus's transactions ; he never attempted to represent matters 
as they were, but rather to make such statements as should se- 
cure favor for his projects. Hence, in the first place, he grossly 
exaggerates the advantages of iSTavidad as a sea])ort (particularly 
when he dwells upon its convenience for trade Avith Asia) ; and, 
in the next, he as grossly magnifies the disadvantages of the 
same i'»lace, that his abandonment of it might appear the more 
reasonable. 

The site he next chose for a settlement was on the north side 
of the island. Here he resolved to build a town, as the situa- 
tion, he declared, was unexceptionable. He therefore caused the 
ships to be unloaded, and proceeded to lay out a town, which he 
named Isabella. 

Already the fatal eftects of his fiilschoods became manifest : 
here were hundreds of Spain's noblest sons, who had left civ- 
ilized life and luxurious homes, allured by the tales of gold and 
Asiatic treasure to be gathered at will in a land as foir as Eden. 

Upon landing at Isabella, provisions began to fail ; the Span- 
iards were without a roof to protect them from the heavy and 
unwholesome night-mists which pervade those countries. Change 
of climate, scantiness of food, and exposure, brought sickness 
and death, while the gold was nowhere visible. The land was, 
indeed, fertile ; and in a few years might be capable of sustain- 
ing thousands ; but it was uncultivated, and the roots which 
served the simple natives as food were insufficient in quantity to 
sustain the large colony Columbus had brought out, even if 
the dainty palates of Castilian nobles could have accustomed 
themselves to such rude fire. "Want and exposure s]n-cad sick- 
ness among all, particularly among the high-born. The first 
steps taken by Columbus toward building the new city were by 
no means calculated to alleviate the sufferings of his followers. 
He proceeded to build a church, a magazine, and a house for liim- 
self,'"^ a triad which illustrates the ruling traits of his character 

"' Herrera, " Decade I.," chapter xl. 



SPANIARDS SICK AND OPPRESSED. 



23T 



—hypocrisy, avarice, and selfishness. The latter is particularly 
apparent, in that he built shelter for himself before taking steps 
to secure greater comfort for hundreds higher born and gentler 
bred than he, who were dying from the etiects of the hardships 
they endured, whom, sick and famishing, he compelled to labor 
in the erection of this very house. What wonder that, amid 




House of Columbus ik Ruins. 



such a scene of disappointment, want, and sickness, murmurs 
became audible and discontent apparent ? Historians are unani- 
mous in their expressions of contempt for these Spaniards who 
expected to find in the Xew World the comforts of the regions 
they had left, and wealth beyond measure at their disposal be- 
sides. They represent Columbus as the much-injured victim of 
these visionaries, who reproached him with having allured them 
by inspiring false hopes ; but these historians forget how rightly 
these reproaches were addressed to Columbus. He had not pre- 
pared his colonists for the hardships they were to endure. If 
they had indulged in golden visions, as delightful as illusive, Co- 
lumbus was the magician who had conjured up such visions. Ho 



238 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

liad declared the wealth of the islands to be so great that, in a 
short time, sufficient could be procured to raise an army and free 
the Holy Sepulchre. The few men he had left were to have col- 
lected at least a ton of gold before his return, and this without 
labor or expense save that of a few worthless bawbles which 
they gave the natives in exchange for the precious metal. 

Kor did he represent the country as a new one. Asia, with 
its rich civilization, was within a few days' journey ; the land 
was so beautiful, the natives so gentle, that paradise itself could 
scarce have been a more delightful sojourn. Such was the tale 
by which he secured the wealth of Spain — the flower of her 
nobility — for his enterj^rise. And what was the reality ? They 
reach the western shore to find their countrymen massacred ; 
the lands, though a valuable acquisition to the crown, could only 
be made such by labor ; the farmer and the mechanic, rude sons 
of tlie soil, and the poor inured to hardships — not noble cavaliers 
— should have been the first to people them. So would it have 
been, but for the base manner in which Columbus deceived the 
sovereigns of Spain and their subjects. Had he represented the 
necessity of labor ; had he not been eager to increase his impor- 
tance and wealth by borrowing from the tales of Marco Polo, 
^hat he might appear to have visited the countries of Asia, which 
Spain and Portugal so longed to reach ; had he not, we say, 
practised the grossest deception (we have shown how impossible 
it was that he could have been deceived), a very different crew 
would have emigrated with him — smaller in numbers, of the 
lower ranks, looking forward to a life of trial — and the sufierings 
of this unhappy multitude would never have existed. 

AVhen the building of the town was fairly under way, twelve 
ships were dispatched to Spain, and with them Antonio de Tor- 
res, the bearer of the dispatches before mentioned, in which 
Columbus develops his system of slave-trade. These shij^s set 
sail on the 2d of February, lidi. Many a sad eye watched 
them wistfully as they disappeared ; many a sad heart sank into 
deeper gloom, as the last white sail vanished beneath the horizon. 

As the unhappy Spaniards awakened from their dreams of 
splendor to tlie reality of a country in which was found neither 
food nor shelter, dissatisfaction daily increased ; hatred for the 
pirate-admiral, who had so craftily allured them to destruction, 
became more and more apparent ; nor were the harsh measures 



EEBELLION" OF BERNAL DIAZ. 239 

and tyrannical conduct of Columbus calculated to conciliate. At 
this early stage, bitter complaints are made against him ; his dis- 
respect of the Spanish gentlemen, his cruelty to the lower class- 
es, the small pretenses upon which he reduced the rations of all 
ranks — all create ever-increasing indignation ; and the disaifec- 
tion, with which he now commenced to be regarded, will hence- 
forth continue throughout his career. 

This disafltection soon became more serious, and, at last, un- 
able longer to restrain their indignation, many of the Spaniards 
organized a resistance against the tyranny of Columbus. Bernal 
Diaz de Pisa, who was controller of the expedition, and had 
occupied a position of some mark at court, headed the disalFect- 
ed. The fact that a man of such standing protested against the 
conduct of Columbus, should cause unprejudiced writers to reflect 
whether such conduct could have been wholly blameless. This 
aspect of the case never seems, however, to present itself to the 
biographers of our hero. They record the falsehoods fabricated 
by him ; they recount the disappointment and disaster which 
these falsehoods engendered ; yet, when speaking of the just 
indignation of the deceived, they term it mutiny — rebellion, 
which could scarcely be punished too severely. Bernal Diaz 
WTote a detailed account of the misrepresentations perpetrated 
by Columbus ; this was discovered, and we are called upon to 
admire the leniency of the latter, who merely confined Diaz on 
boards ship, to be sent to Spain for trial. The gentle narrators 
seem to think death itself would hardly have been too severe a 
penalty for so heinous an offense. It was, indeed, unheard-of 
audacit}^ for any to presume so far as to assert that " the admi- 
ral" had exaggerated. Fernando writes : "Many had gone on 
that voyage upon the belief that, as soon as they landed, they 
might load themselves with gold, and so return, rich, home." 

Such was indeed the case. But the falsehoods of Columbus 
had engendered that belief — a fact which seems to have escaped 
the notice of most writers upon this subject. 

This rebellion being quelled, Alonzo de Ojeda, with a com- 
pany of men, was sent to the district of Cibao to verify the report 
of there being gold-mines in that vicinity. He returned with 
such favorable accounts, that Columbus went thither and founded 
the fort of San Tomas, and established mining operations. 

His progress through the country on this expedition was 



240 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

characteristic : his band was sicldy, -sveary, and disheartened ; 
yet lie must needs enter every Indian liamlet with trumpets 
sounding and banners flying, so irrepressible were his vanity and 
delight in exhibiting his newly-acquired rank. 

During this journey, the Spaniards beheld, for the first time, 
that gloi-ious plain which they named the Vega Eeal, and which 
was to become the theatre of so many tragic scenes. The expe- 
dition to Cibao, prompted by Columbus's impatience to acquire 
treasure, was premature, and a gross error on his part. The in- 
fant town of Isabella should have presented a somewhat more 
prosperous ap])earance before he attempted further settlement ; 
the colony should have become somewhat acclimated, its health 
restored, before mining operations were commenced in the sterile 
mountains of Cibao. The consequence of this premature jour- 
ney was, that but little advantage accrued to the Sjianiards from 
mining which was commenced under such adyerse circumstances. 

The fort of San Tomas being built, it was garrisoned with 
fifty men, under Don Pedro Margarite, a gentleman who pos- 
sessed the confidence of both the sovereigns, and whoin Colum- 
bus himself professed greatly to esteem. The latter then set out 
on his return to Isabella ; he found that colony languishing and 
perishing fast, fgr lack of provisions and the unhealthiness of the 
situation. He seems to have been singularly infelicitous in his 
selection of locations ; for this same town of Isabella, though 
Columbus, in his letters to the sovereigns, had dwelt largely 
upon the advantages of its situation, was afterward abandoned, 
and, when deserted, became an object of dread and horror, not 
only on account of its extreme unhealthiness, but also of the ter- 
rible cruelties and crimes which had been ]>erpetrated against 
the Spaniards within its walls. So great was the horror Avith 
which it was regarded, that cries and groans were reported to 
resound through its deserted streets, while visions of headless 
cavaliers appeared to the superstitious. 

To quell the discontent which was daily increasing, and was 
wellnigh turned into desperation, Columbus sent four hundred 
of the least sickly of the colonists to the interior ; Ojeda was to 
replace Margarite in the superintendence of the mines of Cibao 
and in the command of Fort San Tomas, while the latter was to 
lead the four hundred men on a raid through the country. We 
are told that Columbus enjoined justice toward the natives, and 



RAID UPON THE NATIVES. 



241 



forbade violence ; but, when we read that he instructed Marga- 
rite to conduct his expedition with the twofold object of over- 
awing the natives and of feeding his men, without drawing on 
the colony for supplies, while they were to use every means in 
their power to take the cazique Caonabo prisoner, we are well 
assured Columbus never proposed the raid to be effected without 
violence. 




Spanish Cbueliies.— (From De Bry's Las Casas.) 



, CHAPTER XVIL 

FURTHER EXPLORATIONS. CUBA DECLARED TO BE ASLV. 

Ha-ving as he supposed insured the tranquillity of the colony, 
Cohimbus now intrusted its governnicnt to his brother Diego aa 
president, with Bishop Boyle, who had been appointed by the 
Pope apostolic nuncio to those regions, and others as council- 
ors, and sailed on a further voyage of discovery on the 24th of 
April, 1494. 

During this voyage he discovered the island of Jamaica, and 
many smaller ones, but its most important feature was his coast- 
ing the island of Cuba under the impression that it was (or 
rather with a determination to represent it as) the Continent of 
Asia. Here his interpreter fails him, we are told ; the Cuban 
dialects differing from those of the other islands. 

Historians consider this as some excuse or palliation for the 
fables which our hero pretended to have heard from the natives, 
such as the existence of men with tails, who wore clothes to hide 
their deformity; and of a mighty monarch, entitled saint, who 
never spoke, but gave forth his commands in signs ; and others 
equally absurd. It is said, so eager was Columbus to believe 
himself in Asia, that he readily misinterpreted signs, and re- 
garded them as corroboration of his opinion that he was in the 
territory of the grand-khan. It is evident, however, that these 
stories were invented by him, that he might appear to be in 
those regions which Sir John Mandeville, Polo, and others, 
had described, and near the dominion of the fabled and saintly 
Prince Prester John. 

That he knew he was not in Asia is evident from the extraor- 
dinary measures he took to convince the world he had reached 
that continent. 



SUBORNATIOIT OF PEPJUEY BY COLUMBUS. 24:3 

Had he been assured of that fact, he would have trusted to 
further investigation to establish its verity ; on the other hand, 
if he knew he was practising a fraud, he would eudeavor to pro- 
cure as much testimony as possible to insure that fraud's gain- 
ing credence. 

Which was the case, the reader may judge from the follow- 
ing passage in Irving's " History of Columbus," which scarcely 
needs comment : 

" The admiral was determined, however, that the fact should 
not rest merely on his own assertion, having had recent proofs 
of a disposition to gainsay his statements and depreciate his 
discoveries. He sent round, therefore, a public notary, Fernand 
Perez de Luna, to each of the vessels, accompanied by four wit- 
nesses, who demanded formally of every person on board, from 
the captain to the ship-boy, whether lie had any doubt that the 
land before him was a continent, the beginning and the end 
of the Indies, by which any one might return overland to 
Sixain, and, by pursuing the coast of which, they could soon 
arrive among civilized people. If any one entertained a doubt, 
he was called upon to express it, that it might be removed.'" 
On board the vessels were several experienced navigators, and 
men well versed in the geographical knowledge of the times. 
They examined their maps and charts, and the reckonings and 
journals of the voyage, and after deliberating maturely declared 
under oath that they had no doubt upon the subject. . . . Lest 
they should subsequently, out of malice or caprice, contradict 
the opinion thus solemnly avowed, it was proclaimed by the 
notary that whoever should offend in such a manner, if an 
officer, should pay a penalty of ten thousand maravedis / if' a 
ship-boy or person of the like rank, he should receive a hundred 
lashes and have his tongue cut out. A formal statement was 
afterward drawn up by the notary, including the depositions and 
names of every individual." 

Here Columbus, not content with speaking and writing a 
falsehood, is guilty of sxd>ornation of i)erjury. He manufactures 
perjury wholesale, which felony he would perpetuate by the 
barbarous means of scourging and cutting out the tongues of 
those who should speak the truth. Thus, by a system unknown 

'** Had there been any such hesitation, what followed renders it probable that any 
doubt expressed would have been very forcibly removed. 



2U 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



to Thales and Ptolemy, original if not scientific, did the much- 
lauded navigator and astronomer, the pious and humane "admi- 
ral," determine the latitude and longitude of the island of Cuba.'" 
"We have given this incident in the language of Irving, that 
it may be seen how the extreme partiality of an author will 
so blind him to justice that he can record a deed as shameful 
as the above without pronouncing one word of censure upon its 
author. 




CoLUMBrS EXACT3 AN OaTH FROM HIS CkE\7 THAT ClTBA 18 ASIA. 

Having thus secured his reputation, Columbus turned once 
more toward llispaniola. At tlie island of Saona, an eclipse 
took place, in observing which he made a mistake of more than 
eighteen degrees.'"" 

Near the island of San Juan, whither he M-ns going to cap- 
ture some natives, he fell into a lethargy, which deprived him 
of sense and memory, an attack which Las Casas declares to 
have been sent as a " punishment to the admiral for the cruel 
manner in which he sought to propagate Christianity." "We 

"*' The documents containing the particulars of tiiis forced perjury are to be 
found in Xavarrete, "Colecc. Dip.," vol. i., p. 162. 
106 Irving, " Columbu-s," book vii., chapter vii. 



BARTHOLOMEW COLUMBUS ARRIVED. 



245 



should rather say, for tlic cruel manner in wliicli lie sought to 
enrich himself. 

On arriving at Isabella, and recovering from his illness, he 
learned that his brother Bartholomew, whose voyage to Eng- 
land we have alluded to, had arrived. 

On this brother, who afterward so ably seconded his meas- 
ures of cruelty and oppression, he immediately conferred the 
rank oi adelantado^ or lieutenant-governor, a stretch of authority 
which the sovereigns resented, as they only had a right to con- 
fer titles. 




Spasish Cbxtelties.— (From De Bry's Las Casas.) 



CHAPTEE XYIII. 

DISOKDERS IN THE ISLAND. — MAKGAKITE AND BISHOP BOYLE EE- 
TUKN TO SPAIN, BEARLN'G COMPLAINTS AGAINST COLUMBUS. 

The island liad grown more and more disorderly diiriug Co- 
lumbus's absence ; all liope of peaceful relations between the 
Spaniards and natives had forever disappeared — as no doubt be 
intended should be the case — for, while the Indians remained 
peaceable and friendlv, there was no excuse for enslaving them. 
The expedition of Margarite had roused them to hostility. As 
the Spaniards marched through the country, they seized all they 
could lay hands on. Their avarice, licentiousness, and brutality, 
exceeded all bounds ; the principal caziqnes, with the exception 
of the faithful Guacanagari, joined in a league to expel the ty- 
rants who thus violated the hospitality which had been so gen- 
erously tendered them. Don Pedro Margarite, placed at the 
head of a hungry band, who were charged to march through the 
country and mamtain themselves as best they could, found it im- 
possible to enforce discipline. lie saw with dismay the grow- 
ing disorder throughout the colony, and felt that it should be 
remedied as speedily as possible, and the sovereigns made ac- 
quainted with the true state of things, that they might enforce 
measures for the proper government of the island. 

This appears to have been the motive which induced Mar- 
garite, Bishop Boyle, and several Castilian nobles, to return to 
Spain in the ships which had brought out Bartholomew Co- 
lumbus. 

Bishop Boyle seems to have had peculiar reasons for hasten- 
ing to Europe. He had been constituted, by the Pope, apostolic ' 
vicar and head of the Church in the Western lands. In this ca- 
pacity he had remonstrated with Columbus on his cruel govern- 



BISHOP BOYLE STAEVED OUT. 247 

ment, the latter paying no heed to ecclesiastical censure (by 
which it will be seen how sincere was his profession of love for 
the Church). Bishop Boyle excommunicated him ; whereupon 
he refused to furnish the Pope's vicar and his attendants with 
any provisions, and they were literally starved out of the island, 
or, in the mild words of one author, Columbus's strong advocate, 
" Father Boyle was forced to take his departure the hrst oppor- 
tunity, carrying with him heavy complaints against the justice 
of the admiral," "" with some reason, we should judge. His 
action, however, excites great indignation among historians, as 
also that of Margarite. Irving says the latter " and Boyle had 
hastened to Spain to make false representations of the miseries 
of the island." 

ISToAV, these miseries, according to Irving himself, could 
scarcely be exaggerated. Sickness and death still prevailed ; 
nobles were compelled to work hard, and fare scantily. They 
rightly considered themselves deceived, and their indignation 
against the perpetrator of the deception was excusable — nay, 
justifiable. 

"We can readily imagine, however, the dismay with which Co- 
lumbus heard of these departures. So long as his accounts of 
the islands were the only ones to reach the sovereigns, he could 
ever invent a plausible tale to win their approval. Margarite, 
however, with no inducements to misrepresent facts, would ex- 
pose the falsehoods of which he had been guilty, and our hero 
was not unnaturally alarmed. 

He turned his attention, however, to the unhappy Indians. 
Hearing that a body of the latter was advanciag on Isabella, he 
attacked them, taking five hundred prisoners, to be sent as 
slaves to Spain. Henceforth he will no more speak of enslaving 
cannibals only, as he ^nds prisoner's of war more available. 

The capture of Caonabo was now his great object. To effect 
it, he employed the dauntless Alonzo de Ojeda. The expedi- 
tion, no doubt, offered more peril than he himself was willing to 
encounter. He it was, however, who instructed Ojeda how to 
proceed ; and the baseness and treachery of those instructions 
are well worthy of their author. 

Ojeda appeared in the dominion of the cazique, declaring 
that he came on a friendly mission from Columbus. Caonabo, 

i"' Spotorno, " Historia Memoria," p. 86. 
17 



248 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

who admired the bravery of Ojeda, received him courteously. 
The Litter carried with him a set of fetters, highly wrought aud 
polished. These, he told the chief, were ornaments, and induced 
him to don them as such, and to mount a horse, an animal of 
which the Indians stood greatly in awe. Alonzo persuaded 
Caonabo that all this was done to honor him. The latter was 
deliirhted to exhibit himself thus mounted and accoutred before 
his tribe, but Alonzo suddenly wheeled round with his little 
band of horsemen, and fled rapidly with the captured chief. 
The victim of this fraud ever, we are told, evinced the greatest 
contempt for Columbus, refusing to rise in his presence, while 
he did so deferentially whenever Ojeda appeared, thus evincing, 
he said, his respect for the one who had dared to execute what 
the other had only basely planned. 

Soon after these events, Antonio do Torres returned from 
Spain, with four ships, bearing the provisions of which the fam- 
ishing colony stood so much in need. He brought back M'ith 
him Columbus's dispatches to the sovereigns, and the comments 
which the latter affixed thereto, in which they approved, as we 
have seen, all his proposals, except those relating to the enslave- 
ment of the Indians. 

This approbation was very grateful to Columbus, but his de- 
light must have been considerably embittered by the knowledge 
that they approved of his acts as he had represented them ; and 
that, when Margarite and Boyle should have reached Spain, and 
informed them of the tyranny he practised, their praise would 
change to censure. 

Thenceforth, indeed, the falsehoods of Columbus are dis- 
covered, lie had shown how miserably incapable he was to gov- 
ern, and the sovereigns lost confidence in him more and more ; 
nor did his quarrels with every one M'ith wliom he had dealings 
serve to restore him to favor — a fact which cannot surprise us. 
A governor or other official of the present day, who should 
incur the enmity of all his colleagues, collectively and succes- 
sively, would not be regarded with much confidence. The pub- 
lic would be apt to suppose that, where all were so unanimous in 
disapproving, there must have been some matter for disapproval. 

Columbus commenced with his benefactor Pinzon, continued 
with Margarite, for whom he had first professed great esteem ; 
with Bishop Boyle, the representative of the Church to M'hich 



FIVE HUNDRED INDIANS TO BE SOLD AS SLAVES. 249 

he professed sucli devotion ; and thenceforth he disagreed with 
every one who took part w4th him in the aifairs of the island. 

The ships with which Torres had returned were immediately 
sent back to Spain with all the gold Colnmbns had been able to 
collect. This, however, was but a small quantity ; and, as he 
feared Isabella's displeasure when she should receive no pecu- 
niary profit from his enterprise, after his large promises, he sent 
over the five hundred Indians, to be sold as slaves, hoping that, 
when he declared them to be prisoners of war, her scruples 
would be allayed. 

He must indeed have possessed great confidence that the 
sovereigns, when they found the Indians likely to be the only 
source of wealth to be derived from their new possessions, would 
consent to their enslavement ; or else great hardihood, when he 
dared send back five hundred of the harmless natives of His- 
paniola, in the very ships which had brought out the prohibition 
of king and queen against the enslavement even of those he de- 
clared to be cannibals. 

"When these ships had departed, hearing that the natives 
were collecting in large numbers in the Yega Real, Columbus 
sallied out to attack them. It is not said that they were 
either interfering with or molesting the Spaniards, but, as they 
did not answer his purpose, and procured him neither gold 
nor slaves, he suddenly divined hostile intentions on their part, 
and, the better to convert this heathen people to Christianity — 
such was his avowed object — he marched an army of Chris- 
tians (?) with their horses and dogs into their midst. " He had 
with him," says Irving, " twenty bloodhounds, fearless and 
ferocious ; when once they seized their prey, nothing could 
compel them to relinquish their hold." The horses, urged on by 
their cruel riders, bore down upon the unarmed and defenseless 
people, striking them to the earth, and trampling upon them ; 
the horsemen dealt blows on all sides, M'ith spear or lance, and 
the blows were not returned ; none of these butchered and ter- 
rified Indians made the least resistance, while the bloodhound?, 
scarce more savage than their masters, sprang upon the naked 
bodies of the prostrate and the fleeing, dragging them to the 
earth and tearing out their bowels ; those who escaped the 
slaughter were sold into slavery worse than death.'"* 

108 Irving, " Columbus," book viii., chapter vi. 



250 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



Leaving the liideous and ghastly scene of butchery, and as- 
suming the air of a conqueror, Columbus now traversed the 
isknd, and proceeded to extort an immense revenue from the 
unotfending inhabitants. Ever greedy for gold, he required 
every person, above the age of fourteen years, to pay the amount 
of that metal which would till a Flemish hawk-bell (about lif- 
teen dollars) every three months ; the chiefs paid a much larger 
quantity. In vain the poor islanders, crushed by this imposi- 
tion, remonstrated ; in vain the chiefs, in lieu thereof, offered to 
cultivate for him a breadth of land stretching across the island 




Slaugiitee in the Vega Real, 

from sea to sea — enough, according to Las Casas, to furnish all 
Castile with bread for ten years : Columbus was inexorable ; gold 
he must have, if it cost the life-blood of every Indian in the 
island to procure it ! Ilerrera, in the following passage, fur- 
nishes an example of the tenderness with which the biograj^hers 
of this man dealt with his worst crimes : " Columbus," he writes, 
" like a discreet man, being sensible that the wealth he sent 
must be his support, he pressed for gold, though in other respects 
he was a good Christian and feared God^'' which may be rightly 
interpreted thus : Columbus was cruel, avaricious, dishonest, 



TEREIBLE OPPRESSIOIT OF THE NATIVES. 



251 



but in other respects, and except where he failed, he was a good 
Christian ! 

The unfortunate Indians, reduced by Columbus and his 
brothers to the most abject slavery history has recorded, filled 
with despair, and seeing no prospect of relief from the op- 
pression which had so suddenly and terribly fallen upon them, 
lied from their homes, which were homes no longer ; from the 
haunts of the Christian to the mountains and caves ; but Colum- 
bus relentlessly pursued them, and would have compelled them 




' Enslatement op the Indians. 

to return, but they sought refuge in the wildest, most inaccessi- 
ble parts of the island ; fomished mothers,' with starving children 
clinging around them or clasped in tlieir arms, hid themselves 
in the mountain recesses, or, faint and broken-hearted, died by 
the wayside. The men dared neither hunt nor fish to appease the 
wants of their perishing families, lest Columbus and his blood- 
hounds should be upon them. Thousands perished ; others, van- 
quished by hunger, delivered themselves up to their task-masters 
and returned to die in the mines and fields under the cruel lash 
of the Spaniard. 

Not even the faithful Guacanagari was exempted from trib- 
ute ; he found, indeed, that the day^ in which he had assisted the 



252 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

sliipwreclced Columbus, lie Lad taken a serpent into his Losom. 
lie and liis followers were as cruelly oppressed as those Indians 
who had been hostile to the Spaniards. 

This method of exacting tribute and labor, inaugurated by 
Columbus, may be considered the origin of the cruel system of 
rejxi/iimientos which afterward prevailed in the "West Indies. • 

Columbus had not been mistaken in his apprehensions of 
the efiect the reports of Margarite and Boyle would have at the 
court of Sjjain. The story of the tyranny and cruelty practised 
by their admiral, alarmed the sovereigns, and they determined 
to investigate the matter; but, actuated no doubt by a desire to 
spare Columbus any unnecessary humiliation, they sent, as com- 
missioner for this investigation, Juan Aguado, for whom the 
former professed the strongest friendship ; they rightly supposed 
this friendliness between the two would prevent the latter from 
believing accusations blindly, but would cause him to be certain 
they were well founded before giving them credence. Upon his 
arrival, his investigations more than corroborated the state- 
ments of Margarite ; on all sides, from noble and commoner, 
Spaniard and native, rose bitter complaints against the inhuman 
admiral and viceroy. 

Historians, commenting upon this fact, say that an unfortu- 
nate man always finds accusers. They forget that, if ever Colum- 
bus was prosperous, these were the days of his prosperity. The 
last dispatches from the Spanish sovereigns had contained a2> 
proval and praise, nevertheless all Avith one accord rose to de- 
nounce him ; such unanimity would have been impossible, had 
he been faultless. 

The result of Aguado's investigation was such, that in pure 
justice he strove to redress some of the existing wrongs; by 
this action he not only incurred the undying enmity of Colum- 
bus, but is vilified by historians, though the unfortunate man's 
only crime seems to have been that, when sent out to make in- 
vestigations, he performed his mission conscientiously. The fact 
that his corroboration, as an impartial and disinterested party, 
of the accusations so universally made, is a strong evidence of 
Columbus's guilt, seems to escape notice. lie docs not appear to 
have abused his authority ; he collected all the evidence and in- 
formation required, and then projjosed to retm'n to Spain and 
make his report. 



FLEET DESTEOYED BY HUKRIOANE. 



253 



Columbus was now seriously alarmed, and resolved to return 
thither also, and make what defense he might. A tremendous 
hurricane, however, swept over the island and destroyed the en- 
tire fleet, which lay at anchor, with the exception of the Kifla ; 
the latter had to be repaired, and another vessel was built out of 
the wrecks ; this retarded the departure alike of Columbus and 
Aguado. 

During the delay, Columbus was informed of the discovery 
of other gold-mines, more productive than those of Cibao, in a 
beautiful region of the interior ; they were discovered by a 
young Spaniard who had fled, having, as he supposed, murdered 
a comrade. On his reappearance with tidings of gold, Columbus, 
we are told, not only pardoned but looked upon him with great 
favor,'"' and proceeded to explore the new region, being desirous 
of abandoning Isabella, which he now considered as objection- 
able as ITavidad. 

109 Irving, " Columbus," book viii., chapter x. The gold he declared potent to 
save from the pangs of purgatory, he thus proved to be equally potent in averting 
the gallows and the penitentiary. 




CHAPTER XIX. 

KETUEN OF COLC^MBUS TO SPAIX. HIS THIRD VOYAGE. 

IIavixg sent his brother to examine the situation of the 
mines, who returned with favorable reports, and the vessels 
being now ready to sail, Columbus embarked in one and Aguado 
in the other ; as many of the Spaniards as could, availed them- 
selves of this opportunity of returning to their native land. 
The voyage was a long and disastrous one ; the crew were half 
famished and in sony plight when, on the 11th of June, 149<>, 
they entered the bay of Cadiz, from which they had departed 
with such glowing hopes. " ]N^ever did a more miserable and 
disappointed crew return from a land of promise," says Irving. 
He forgets to add, whose misrepresentations were the cause of all 
this misery and disappointment. 

A month elapsed before Columbus received a summons to 
appear at court, and his guilty conscience made him greatly 
fear for his reception there ; his abject humility, as he pro- 
ceeded to Burgos, contrasted as strikingly with his vaunting 
return from his first voyage, as did the splendid promises he 
had then made, with the miserable reality which had now be- 
come apparent. 

Clad in the garb of a monk, with cringing humility apparent 
in mien and gesture, he appeared before the sovereigns. They 
received him more graciously than he had exjiected ; some his- 
torians declare that no allusion M'hatever was made to the accu- 
sation of Margarite and Boyle ; others go so ftir as to say that 
the sovereigns loaded him with benefits and praise ; all agree, 
however, while making these assertions, that his fortunes are 
henceforth under a cloud, that the nation ridiculed hiui, and 



COLUMBUS m BAD ODOR— GOLD IX BARS. 255 

that the confidence of Ferdinand and Isabella was shaken. 
Bossi admits that it was intimated to him that he had best 
moderate the rigor of his rule in the islands ; it is probable, 
therefore, that he received some censure. 

In vain, to recover what prestige he ever possessed, did he 
announce that he had discovered that land of Ophir whence 
Solomon procured his gold ; in vain did he dwell upon the ad- 
vantages to be derived from his visit to Cuba, which, he averred, 
was the eastern extremity of Asia. His disheartened compan- 
ions told a different tale. He met on all sides with derision, 
which the recollection of the pompous boasting he had indulged 
in on his return from his first voyage only served to increase ; 
he became the butt of well-earned ridicule — an example of how 
falsehood and fraud will oftentimes turn to plague the inventor. 

Though Isabella may have refrained from publicly disgracing 
the admiral, her actions show plainly what credit she gave his 
statements. 

For a year and a half, he daily represented the necessity of 
sending out ships and provisions to Hispaniola. At the end of 
that time, two caravels were sent, under one Coi'OJial j but he 
himself could not procure the squadron he solicited, with which 
to prosecute his discoveries — lack of funds was the excuse with 
which he was put off from day to day and month to month. 
Yet this excuse can hardly be considered valid, for, at that very 
period, a magnificent fleet of upward of a hundred vessels (we 
believe, a hundi'ed and twenty), having on board twenty thou- 
sand persons, convoyed the Princess Juana to Flanders, for her 
marriage with the Archduke of Austria. 

"While Columbus was importuning for a fleet, Pedro Nino, 
who had left Cadiz for Hispaniola immediately after the arrival 
of the former in that port, returned to Spain, and circulated a 
report that he had on board much gold, in bars, the fainting 
hopes of Columbus revived. He was instructed by the crown 
to defray the expenses of his expedition out of this gold, and 
an appropriation of six million maravedis, which he had just 
with difficulty procured, was transferred to another channel. 
"What, then, was his mortification, when he discovered that 
Kino had returned with a cargo of Indians to be sold as slaves 
— alluding to their sale for gold, and to their present imprison- 
ment, he termed them gold in dars — satirically implying by 



256 IIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

this jest tliat tliey were likely to be the only gold derived from 
the islands. 

If tlie boasting lies of Columbus had been derided before, 
how much greater did the derision now become ! If he had bee;i 
hitherto unable to procure vessels, how much lets willing were 
the sovereigns now to make an outlay which, to all appearance, 
would profit them nothing ! 

A certain pride, hoM-ever, forbade them wholly to abandon 
an enterprise in which they had embarked ; and, to silence the 
importunities of Columbus, they ordered that such vessels as 
were necessary for the expedition should be j^r^^s^fZ into the 
service, with their masters and pilots, and such remuneration to 
be ofiered the owners as the officers of the crown should think 
fit ; their object being evidently to transfer the burden of the 
expenses from the crown to its subjects. 

About this time, Columbus made his will, of which we shall 
require to speak more at length hereafter. He also succeeded 
in obtaining a revocation of a royal order M'hicli had been ful- 
minated in 1495, by which subjects of Castile were allowed to 
make voyages of discovery at their own expense for the crown, 
a permission which he declared M-as in direct conflict with his 
interests, and supplicated and hegged as a favor that it should 
be ■withdrawn."" 

Six vessels were at length with difficulty procured. Colum- 
bus received permission to take out three hundred and thirty 
persons in royal pay, to colonize the islands ; but so cflectually 
had the Spaniards, who had already returned thence, succeeded 
in demonstrating the falseness of his representations, that it was 
found impossible to obtain the dcsii'cd recruits. He then made 
a proposition, which proves alike his unprincipled character and 
the extremities to which he was reduced. He petitioned that 
malefactors might be released from their prisons, and expiate 
their oftenses by a sojourn of two years or less in the new lands. 
To this proposition Isabella agreed, to her lasting dishonor ; and, 
in so doing, effectually contradicts all who dwell upon her kindly 
disposition toward the unhappy Indians : such an element could 
hardly work for the good of their souls. The conversion in- 
trusted to such hands must surely result in demoralizing, rather 
than elevating them. She and the pious admiral well knew that 

"» Xavancte, " Colccc. Dip.," vol. ii., p. 224. 



THIEVES AND MUEDERERS. 257 

lawless criminals, whom society had deemed unsafe in Spain, 
would be a hundred-fold worse when far removed from restraint, 
and turned loose upon the unhappy natives."' 

Though he had thus procured ships and crew, Columbus still 
had great difficulty in obtaining supplies — difficulty which his 
quarrelsome disposition increased, if it did not create. Juan 
Rodriguez de Fonseca, Bishop of Badajoz, had been appointed 
head, or superintendent, of the affairs of the Indies. He is one 
of the multitude who have been vilified by historians because he 
conscientiously performed the duties of his office, instead of be- 
coming the creature of Columbus. Indeed it is a fact, which the 
careful reader cannot fail to observe, that, in order to make a 
great and noble man of the latter, his biographers are obliged to 
vilify every one of his contemporaries with whom he had any 
dealings of importance. 

Fonseca, fortunately for the crown, opposed the extravagant 
demands of the admiral. The quarrel between them originated 
in his somewhat reasonable remonstrance against the appoint- 
ment of twenty esquires to wait solely on the latter on his sec- 
ond departure for the primitive regions of the "West. JN^otwith- 
standing the railings of Columbus and his partisans, there is 
every evidence of Fonseca's having been an efficient officer and 
meritorious man. Had it been otherwise, he would not, as he 
did, have retained the confidence of the Spanish sovereigns, and 
remained at the head of Indian afiairs for upward of thirty 
years, despite the accusations and complaints of the admiral. 
And here is another contradiction of that sensational fiction 
which so popularly represents Isabella as constantly sympathiz- 
ing with and befriending Columbus, w^hile thwarted by her hus- 

"^ The act, or order, which authorizes this exportation of crimiDals, is thus 
■worded : " . . . We will and ordain that all and every person, men and women, our 
subjects and natives, who may have committed, up to the day of the publication of 
this our letter, any murders and offenses, and other crimes, of whatever nature and 
quality they may be " (heresy and others are excepted), " who shall go and serve in 
person in the island of Hispaniola, and shall serve in it at their own expense, and in 
those things which the said admiral shall command and specify to them on our part ; 
namely, those who have incurred the punishment of death, for two years, and those 
who have incurred any other punishment, although it may be the loss of a limb, for 
one year ; shall receive a pardon for every crime and misdeed, of whatsoever nature, 
quality, or gravity it may be, which they may have done or committed up to the day 
of the publication of this our letter, excepting the cases above mentioned, . . . and 
we reestablish the said delinquents in their former good fame, and in the state in 
which they were, before they had done and committed the aforesaid crimes." 



258 LIFE OF COLUifBUS. 

band and officials. It requires but a moment's reflection for the 
absurdity of this view, -svbich is so universally entert^iined, to 
become apparent. She was sovereign of Castile. Her husband's 
power in that kingdom was merely nominal. His influence, 
tiierefore, would have been ineffectual in injuring Columbus, had 
she desired to patronize him ; and, though her authority was not 
absolute, yet it would have sufficed to remove Fonseca, who is 
said to have been the bitter enemy of her so-cuWed protege. Had 
she been as desirous of fevoring the latter as is represented, she 
would therefore have replaced the bishop by some one more 
friendly to his interests. 

It is most probable that the queen, now thoroughly under- 
standing the grasping character of her admiral, was only too 
glad to intrust the superintendence of his expenditure to one on 
whom she could rely, to check his extravagance and expose his 
frauds. The ill repute of Fonseca, like the fame of Columbus, 
has been chiefly the work of modern times. Irving himself, 
who brands him as vile and despicable, confesses that contem- 
porary historians do not speak nnfavorably of the bishop ; and, 
though he accounts for the fact by supposing that prudence re- 
strained them from expressing their true opinion, this is a gratui- 
tous supposition on his part. 

The amiable manner in which our admiral comported him- 
self toward those with whom he came in contact is illustrated by 
his treatment of one Ximeno de Breviesca, the treasurer of Fon- 
seca. Ximeno had some business with him just before his de- 
parture on this third voyage, and, having occasion to protest, or 
possibly only to transmit Fonseca's protestation against some 
of his demands, Columbus knocked him down, kicked and buf- 
feted him in a most brutal manner. As one more example of how 
his most inexcusable acts receive the sanction of his biographers, 
we will again quote Mr. Irving, who seenjs to regard such con- 
duct as far from blamable. " He struck the despicable minion 
to the ground, and spuimed him repeatedly with his foot," says 
Mr. Irving, relating the above event, " venting in this unguarded 
paroxysm the accumulated griefs which had long rankled in his 
mind." 

De Lorgues thus records this somewhat equivocally saint-like 
act : 

" The patriarch of the ocean made a step toward his insulter, 



BRUTAL ASSAULT BY THE ADMIRAL UPON XIMENO. 259 

and witli liis fist dealt a blow on his impudent face. Tlie mis- 
erable wretch fell down stunned. The admiral limited him- 
self to giving a few Mcks to this vile snarler, who fled in the 
midst of hootings, concealing, mider his humiliation and forced 
tears, his secret joy ; for from that moment his fortune was 
made." 

But De Lorgues denies that the above act was a " mark of 
ungovernable temper," and declares that, in perpetrating it, 
" Columbus did not yield to hastiness, or to the excitement of 
self-love," while it is evident that he desires us to admire the le- 
niency of his hero, who limited Jmnself to giving a few kicl's to 
his prostrate victim."* 

This outburst and insult to a public officer, which exposed 
the brutal vinclictiveness of the man in all its violence, went far, 
as may be supposed, to confirm all the reports of his cruelties 
and insolence toward the Spaniards in Hispaniola. The sov- 
ereigns, when they heard of this outrage, committed within 
their own realm, must have readily conceived how the perpe- 
trator would act when far removed from their supervision, and 
vested with supreme authority. 

Leaving the remembrance of this last act, and the impression 
it must inevitably produce, to perform their work in Spain, Co- 
lumbus set sail on the 30th of May, 1498, on his third voyage, in 
the name of the Holy Trinity. 

At the Canary Islands he divided his fleet, and sent three 
vessels direct to Hispaniola, while he with the three others pro- 
ceeded to the Cape Yerde Islands, thence to sail due west under 
the equinoctial line, " it being his intention," says Fernando, " to 
discover the continent." Thus we perceive at once that, when 
in the island of Cuba he extorted the oath from his men that 
they were in Asia, he was perfectly aware of the perjury which 
he forced them to commit ; for, had he then supposed he had 
discovered the continent, he would not now have declared that 
he was going to discover it. 

His voyage lasted two months, part of which his vessels lay 
motionless in the scorching region of the calm latitudes ; and, 
though he desired to pursue a southwesterly course, the condi- 
tion of his ships forced him to make for Hispaniola. 

On the 31st of July of this year, 1498, a sailor gave the cry 

"^De Lorgues, " Christophe Colomb," livre ii., chapter ix. 



260 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

of land, and, shortly after, three mountains appeared, which, as 
the ships neared them, proved to be united at their bases. This 
circumstance Columbus interprets as a miracle, intending to show 
Low acceptable were all his acts to the Almighty. He had sailed 
M'ith his gang of thieves and murderers in the name of the Holy 
Trinity, and three mountains, symbolizing that Trinity, are the 
first land he descries. He gave the island (for such it was) the 
name of La Trinidad, which it bears to this day. He then 
rounded Cape Galera, which brought him to the southern side 
of the island ; and it was while his vessels were talcing in water 
at Point Alcatraz, the low lands of the Orinoco being visible 
from that point, that, accordini? to all historians, he, on the 1st 
of August, 1498, beheld for the first time the Continent of 
America, which, in the preceding year, Amerigo Vespucci had 
visited, and coasted from the gulf of Honduras to Chesapeake 
Bay."^ He was not, however, aware that the land before him 
was the continent, but imagined it to be another island. 

The absurd story he tells of the sea rising like a high moun- 
tain, threatening to submerge the ships, is said by over-indulgent 
writers to have been the effect produced on his ardent imagina- 
tion by the outpouring of the waters of the Orinoco into the 
ocean. To us it illustrates his character : the truth only would 
not, he feared, produce wonder enough. In his efforts to give 
supernatural semblance to all that occurred, he dealt largely in 
the marvelous. His age was one teeming with navigators, yet 
none of his contemporaries record such storms, such calms, such 
heat, such mutinous crews, such huge sea-monsters, as those 
which he imagined or invented. 

Having escaped from this huge mountain of waters, he 
emerged from the northern strait which divides Trinidad from 
the continent, and which he named Boca del Drago, as he had 
already named the southern strait which formed the same di- 
vision Boca del Sierpe. 

Still in ignorance that the land before him was the continent, 
he coasted Paria in search of some outlet to the sea bevoud. 
The natives received him kindly, and appeared more civilized 
than those he had found in the islands. Many of the women 
wore pearls, and he obtained a quantity of costly ones in ex- 

'" Cabot had also preceded Columbus, and reached North America on the 24th 
of June, 1497. 



THE EARTH 2^0T SPHEEICAL— EARTHLY PARADISE. 261 

change for tlie merest trifles. At length, not finding the desired 
outlet, he concluded that this was the continent. 

The description, of this voyage, which he gives in a letter to 
tlie sovereigns, and the speculations in which he indulges to 
rouse their flagging interest, is certainly a valuable production as 
regards originality, and as a proof of the ignorance and absurdity 
of the man. Here he gives forth that truly novel theory that 
the earth \?> ^ear-shaioed. 

" I have always read," he writes, in a letter to their Catholic 
Majesties on his return from this voyage, " that the world, com- 
prising the land and the water, was spherical, as is testified by 
the investigations of Ptolemy and others, who have proved it by 
the eclipses of the moon, and other observations made from east 
to west, as well as by the elevation of the pole from north to 
south."* But I have now seen so much irregularity, as I have 
already described, that I have come to another conclusion re- 
specting the earth — namely, that it is not round, as they de- 
cribe, but of the form of a pear, which is very round, except 
where the stalk grows, at which part it is most prominent." 

This opinion he bases upon the mildness of the climate in 
the Western Hemisphere near the equinoctial, as compared with 
the equatorial regions of Africa. This mildness he attributes to 
a gradual rise, or prominence, like a great mountain or upper 
portion of a pear. On the top of this mountain, or excrescence, 
which is nearest the shj, he declares the earthly paradise to be 
situated, which he proposes to add to the other possessions of 
their majesties."' There are not wanting men of intellect who, 

"* It is hereby rendered apparent that the theory of the earth's sphericity, which 
so many authors describe him as revealing to startled and incredulous contempora- 
ries, was in his time, and had been for ages before it, generally accepted, and, in 
order to be novel, he is obliged to refute that theory. 

"^ " .... I do not suppose that the earthly paradise is in the form of a rugged 
mountain, as the descriptions of it have made it appear, but, that it is on the summit 
of the spot which I have described as being in the form of the stalk of a pear, the 
approach to it from a distance must be by a constant and gradual ascent. . . . There 
are great indications of this being the terrestrial paradise, for its site coincides with 
the opinion of the holy and wise theologians whom I have mentioned ; and, more- 
over, other evidences agree with the supposition. . . . But the more I reason on the 
subject, the more satisfied I become that the terrestrial paradise is situated in the 
spot I have described. . . . May it please the Lord to grant your highnesses a long 
life, and health and peace to follow out so noble an investigation ! " — Columbus's Let. 
Ur to the Sovereigns, describing his Third Voyage, 1498. 



262 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

with more or less honesty, liave defended tliis theory as plausi- 
ble. "We somewhat doubt that honesty, we confess, -when we 
find that enthusiastic advocate for the canonization of Columbus, 
M. de Lorgues, asserting that in the above absurd speculation 
Columljus shows a knowledge of, if he did not discover, the in- 
flation of the equator ; we fail to see in it the faintest suspicion 
of equatorial inflation round the whole globe, which only di- 
verges from a perfect sphere in so far as to become a slightly 
flattened one. He declares a prominence or excrescence to exist 
on one side of the globe, which is perfectly round on all other 
sides. lie distinctly contrasts the region he speaks of with those 
of Africa, also situated on the equator. He also declares this 
excrescence to be nearer the sl'y than other parts of the globe. 
This totally defeats the idea of uniform inflation around its 
circumference, which evidently never for a moment entered the 
mind of Columbus. 

In this letter, in which he describes in glowing colors the 
country, people, and productions of the continent, he forbears to 
speak of the pearls for which he had bartered with the natives, 
having, no doubt, a desire to keep them for himself as per- 
quisites. This silence will hereafter bring him into trouble, as 
his men M-ere well aware of the pearls being in his possession, 
and proclaimed the fact on their arrival in Hispaniola. 

He now determined to return to that island. He had an in- 
firmity of the eyes, Avliich nearly deprived him of sight, and suf- 
fered from a disease which is reported to have been gout, though 
how that fatal consequence of ease and high living could attack 
one leading such a life as his requires explanation. 

He made for Isabella, but arrived instead at San Domingo, 
the new colony on the south side, an inexactitude of calculation 
which is among the least perpetrated by " the admiral." 

On his arrival he was met by the adelantado, Bartholomew 
Columbus, who gave him a woful account of the condition of 
the island. The lands were uncultivated, the people sick and 
dying, while the authority of his brothers, and even his own, 
was being questioned. 



CHAPTER XX. 

KEBELLION OF EOLDAN. CRUELTIES OF COLUMBUS. — MURDER OF 

MOXICA. ^ 

The particulars of this rebellion form one of the most dis- 
graceful pages in the history of Columbus ; it illustrates alike 
his treachery, cowardice, and inability to rule, save by the gross- 
est tyranny. 

After his departure for Spain, his brother Bartholomew, 
whom he left in charge of the government, adopted forthwith 
the severest measures, constantly traveling from one part of the 
island to another, allowing the unfortunate Spaniards neither 
rest nor quiet, sternly exacting from the still more unfortunate 
natives enormous tribute ; the latter revolted, but were speedily 
vanquished, their leaders put to cruel deaths, and a still heavier 
tribute imposed upon the masses. 

Francisco Roldan had been appointed by Columbus alcalde, 

mayor or chief-justice of the island. It is difficult to form a 

just estimate of this man from the perusal of the histories of 

Columbus ; nevertheless, as Fernando, who writes in his father's 

interest, says that he (Roldan) " acted from a pretense to further 

the public good," and, as through all his proceedings enough is 

apparent to prove that this was at least one of his motives, if 

not the principal, and as, moreover, he constituted himself the 

friend and protector of the Indians, we may infer that he was 

really far more meritorious than the generality of those who 

obtained office through the aid of Columbus. It soon became 

apparent, however, that he did not intend to become the blind 

partisan of the latter by disregarding the duties of his office. A 

manly frankness characterizes his dealings with Columbus and 
18 



264 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

his brothers which commands respect. Incensed alike by the 
cruelties practised toward the Indians and the hardships imposed 
upon the Spaniards by the harsh and restless spirit of the ade- 
lantado, and discouraged at the deplorable condition of the 
island, he requested that a certain sliip which the addantaclo 
•had built might be fitted out to convey him and some other 
cavaliers to Spain, there to lay their grievances before the sov- 
ereigns. His request was denied, upon the pretense that the ship 
was in want of tackle. This can hardly have been true, for it 
had but just returaed with a heavy cargo of cotton, etc., from 
the district of Xaragua, ruled by Anacaona, widow of Caonabo, 
and Behechio, his brother, where it had been to collect tribute. 
Eoldan was not deceived by the excuse ; he represented to his 
friends that the tyrannical measures of the adelantado were un- 
lawful, inasmuch as he had received his rank from the admiral, 
■who had no right to confer titles, and declared that, in virtue 
of his office, he had determined to release the oppressed natives 
from the excessive tribute imposed upon them. His Iriends, 
who appear to have been the best men in the island,"* agreed to 
sustain him in these measures. He received j^articularly ready 
assistance from Adrian de Moxica, a gentleman of wealth and 
standing, whose kinsman, Hernando de Guevara, had become 
enamored of and desired to w^ed a daughter of Queen Anaca- 
ona, and therefore ardently sought to further the interests of her 
people. 

Eoldan and his followers, determined no longer to recognize 
the authority of the adelantado, left Isabella. So great was the 
unpopularity or conscious guilt of the latter, that he dared not 
resent this proceeding, but sent a safe-conduct to Holdan, peti- 
tioninof for an interview. Holdan reiterated his demand for a 
vessel, which was again refused upon the same grounds. He 
then not unnaturally inferred, what was probably the case, name- 
ly, that the adelantado was by no means desirous that an account 
of his proceedings should reach Spain. He strove to divest 
Eoldan of his office ; the latter very justly objected that their 
majesties alone — to whom the islands belonged — or their accred- 
ited representative could remove him ; and declared, moreover, 

118 Fernando tells us that the few Spaniards who remained with the addaniado, 
were bribed to do so by the promise of two slaves apiece, to be given them if they 
did not go over to Roldan. — Historia del Amirante, chapter Ixxv. 



EOLDAN DEMANDS THE INDIANS' RELEASE. 265 

that the sovereigns did not wish the Indians to suffer as they 
did, nor the Spaniards to be so oppressed."' 

He prepared to leave the city with his followers. The ade- 
lantado refused them provision. He therefore forced open the 
magazines in the king's name, took what he required, and pro- 
ceeded to Xaragua, releasing the Indians on his way from trib- 
ute, and assuring them that all their Catholic Majesties required 
of them was that they should be good subjects."* 

When Columbus returned to Hispaniola, and was made ac- 
quainted with these events, his first act was to proclaim Roldan 
and his followers rebels ; but he seems to have hesitated in be- 
coming openly hostile to him : he sent one Carvajal to offer him 
a safe-conduct and pardon for the past, if he would return to his 
allegiance. 

Six hundred Indians, who had been made prisoners because 
their cazique had failed to pay tribute, were at that time confined 
on board five ships, to be sent to Spain as slaves, the ships only 
waiting till Columbus should be able to write that affairs in the 
island were quiet, before sailing. Eoldan therefore made an- 
swer to Columbus's envoy that he desired and required no par- 
don, having committed no offense, but he merely requested that 
these Indians, whom he had taken under his protection, should 
be set at liberty ; that he was acting legally, and that it was Co- 
lumbus who, by enslaving them, disobeyed the royal commands. 
The latter refused to liberate the Indians, but sent them out im- 
mediately to Spain, dwelling, in his letter to the sovereigns, 
upon the advantages that would accrue to their treasury from 
the sale of four thousand yearly, at the same time reporting 
Roldan's insubordination. 

Fear, however, or the conviction that his own cause was weak, 
induced him still to endeavor to come to an understanding with 
the latter, who, thus urged, drew up articles, and promised, on 
condition of Columbus signing them, to cease hostilities. This 
Columbus refused to do, saying that, were he to sign, he would 
bring himself, his brothers, and justice, into disrepute."® As 
Roldan, however, remained inexorable, Columbus, notwithstand- 
ing the above declaration, acceded to all his requests, which 
were, in substance, that two good ships should be fitted out, in 

1" " Historia del Amirante," chapters Ixxv., Ixxvi. 
"* Idem., chapter Ixxvi. "' Idem., chapter Ixsx. 



266 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

which he and such of his followers as wished to do so, might re- 
turn to Spain, with an assurance that neither the admiral nor 
his friends should molest them. That those returning to Spain 
should receive certificates of good conduct, it was stipulated that 
the conditions precedent should be performed within ten days 
after the signing of the contract, or the agreement was to become 
void, Roldan, on his part, pledging himself to depart within 
fiftj days after receiving the vessels. 

Throughout all these proceedings, Columbus had been the 
suitor, Roldan the sued, which appears inconsistent with the re- 
ports of his bad behavior. Had he really been so blamable, 
Columbus would not have been so desirous to come to terms with 
him, but would have trusted to the royal power for bringing him 
to subjection. He knew that Koldan, in his protection of the 
Indians, and his remonstrances against the tyranny of himself 
and his brothers, was essentially in the right, and would be so 
regarded by the crown when the truth should be learned. 

The agreement was signed JS'ovember, 1498. It was not till 
the following April that two ships were furnished Roldan. He 
and his followers refused to embark, not so much because they 
had not arrived within the prescribed time, as because they were 
worm-eaten and insufficiently furnished with provisions, two 
somewhat awkward impediments to a long sea-voyage ; he 
therefore declared his intention of seekinfi: redress from the 
crown. This alarmed Columbus. He sent, in haste, another 
safe-conduct, and requested Eoldan to come and treat with him. 
The latter accepted his invitation, and, fearlessly going on board 
the admiral's fleet, obtained the following terms : 

All his followers who desired, should return to Spain by the 
first ships ; 

That those remaining behind should receive lands and 
houses ; 

That a proclamation should be made, that Roldan and his fol- 
lowers had been forced to act as they had by the fault of bad men ; 

That Roldan should be reappointed perpetual chief-justice, 
with power to appoint all subordinate justices. 

Thus did the admiral reward the man whom he had accused 
of rebellion, attempted murder, treason, and robbery, by con- 
ferring upon him the highest office at his disposal. 

If he were indeed guilty of the crimes imputed to him, noth- 



DUPLICITY AND COWAEDICE OF COLUMBUS. 267 

ing can excuse the dastardly conduct of Columbus in thus pro- 
moting him ; if, on the other hand, he had only justly taken up 
arms against the tyranny and incompetency to rule of Columbus 
and his brothers, their cruelty and duplicity stand revealed. 
These transactions, therefore, whatever view we may take of 
them — whether we regard Roldan, as do the majority of histo- 
rians, as a lawless rebel, or, what is more probable, as one who 
fearlessly and perseveringly stood up for the rights of his coun- 
trymen and the oppressed Indians — the part played by Colum- 
bus is alike despicable and revolting. 

Not only did he give this so-called rebel office and justifica- 
tion, but conferred on him lands and other favors. When he, 
however, asked to visit these lands (a not unnatural request, it 
would seem), we are told that the admiral reluctantly consented. 

On his way to Xaragua, Roldan appointed one of his friends 
alcalde, or justice. This appointment, though of no material im- 
portance, yet furnishes another proof of how modern authors 
have strayed still farther from the truth in their attempts to make 
Columbus immaculate, than contemporary writers. Mr. Irving 
says Columbus was justly indignant at this appointment, Roldan 
having no power to appoint associate justices. Fernando Colum- 
bus, who, as has been shown, does not always adhere strictly to 
the truth, and who may justly be supposed to represent his 
father in as favorable a light as possible, and not to palliate the 
faults of his father's enemies, allows that in the matter of this 
appointment Roldan was right. He says the latter " appointed 
Riquielme alcalde, it heing a jpart of his grant to aj)j>oint other 
alcaldes:' '" 

How, then, can it be asserted that Columbus v^asjustl^j indig- 
nant at an officer's properly exercising the functions of his office ? 

Two ships finally set sail for Spain in October, 1499, bearing 
thither many of Roldan' s adherents, whom Columbus had pre- 
sented with slaves and certificates of their good character and 
conduct on the island. These, however, he privately contra- 
dicted by secreting on board of one of the very ships, in the keep- 
ing of one of his confidants, a letter to the sovereigns, wherein 
he accused Roldan of the most heinous crimes, begged them not 
to give credence to the certificates of good character, as the men 
to whom he had furnished them were murderers, rebels, and 

120 « Historia del Amirante," chapter Ixxxiii. 



268 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

thieves, whom he advised their majesties to have seized imme- 
diately on their arrival, stripped of their possessions, and severely 
pmiished. It is difficult to imagine conduct at once more treach- 
erous, despicable, and pusillanimous, than this.'" 

He also requested that a judge should be sent to administer 
justice in the island, said judge to be paid by him, and whose 
duties were to be so specified that they should not interfere with 
his prerogatives.'" Such a justice, powerful to do the will of 
Columbus, but powerless against him, would have been a soriy 
acquisition for Hispaniola. 

It was in this year, 1499, that Amerigo Yespucci, on his 
return from his second voyage, provisions falling short, put in at 
Hispaniola upon the suggestion of Alonza de Ojeda. Columbus 
immediately sent Eoldan to express his indignation at their hav- 
ing landed without his permission. The latter found a party of 
the shiji's crew busily engaged in making cassava-bread in an 
Indian village, thus demonstrating the innocence and necessity 
of their visit. 

Alonzo de Ojeda was the nominal commander of the expedi- 
tion, as the grant, allowing citizens to prosecute discoveries at 
their own expense for the crown, only extended to subjects of 
Castile. Vespucci w-as rai Italian, in the service of the King of 
Aragon. It was Ojeda, therefore, who showed Eoldan the 
papers authorizing the expedition, duly signed by Fonseca, head 
of the afliiirs of the Indies. This was unanswerable ; but Ojeda, 
with more generosity than judgment, is said to have declared 
himself the patron of the many Spaniards, who, remembering his 
impulsive bravery, flocked around him, telling him their griev- 
ances — representing that they had received no pay since their 
arrival in the island, though the crown provided for their remu- 
neration. 

Ojeda promised to redress their wrongs, and to compel 
Columbus to pay them; at the same time bidding them put no 
faith in the promises of the latter, as he would only fulfill them 
so long as necessity compelled him to do so.'" 

He, moreover, informed them of what was soon to become 
apparent— namely, that the admiral was far from being in favor 

'•' Irving, book xii., chapter v 

"^ Letter of Columbus to DoRa Juana de la Torres. — Irving, book ul, chapter t. 

"3 " Historia del Amirante," chapter Ixxxiv, 



GUEVARA, OJEDA, MOXICA. . 269 

at tlie court of Spain, where only unfavorable reports of liim had 
been received. He predicted, not without reason, as will be 
seen, the speedy and total downfall of the tyrant. 

Roldan met the expedition, at the head of which Ojeda had 
placed himself. The latter remembering, perhaps, that he had 
been sent upon a voyage of discovery, and not to enforce justice, 
retired to his ship, and, after some further skirmishing and par- 
leying, set sail for Spain. 

We have mentioned the young Fernando de Guevara, who 
was desirous of wedding the daughter of Anacaona. That a 
young Spanish cavalier should become the lawful husband of an 
Indian maiden would be a dangerous blow to the policy of Co- 
lumbus, which was to degrade and enslave the natives. He fore- 
saw this would become impossible when these unfortunates 
should acquire allies among the Spaniards united to them by the 
strong ties of blood. Guevara was, therefore, forbidden to marry 
the young princess, and ordered to leave the island in Ojeda's 
ships. When we remember that Columbus had instructed Kol- 
dan to drive Ojeda from the island as a pirate, his presumption 
in sending a passenger for transport on board an enemy's ship, 
while a monstrous wrong to Guevara, was strictly in keeping 
with his general line of conduct. Finding that Ojeda had al- 
ready departed, and feeling the injustice and cruelty with which 
he was treated, Guevara resolved to persevere, and to marry the 
Indian princess. He therefore secreted himself in the house of 
her mother, and sent for a priest to baptize his bride. He was 
discovered and driven out by the authorities, but with touching 
persistency returned once more, when he was made prisoner and 
conducted to the fortress of San Domingo, there to await the 
punishment of so heinous a crime as that of loving faithfully and 
honestly an Indian maiden. This persistent and lawful attach- 
ment, in the face of tyranny and persecution, is termed by Co- 
lumbus a rebellion; and because Adrian de Moxica, kinsman to 
the unfortunate youth, remonstrated against his imprisonment, 
he was accused of "joining in the rebellion." After requesting 
the release of Guevara, and being refused, he set out with six 
or seven followers, to endeavor, it is said, to liberate him. Co- 
lumbus, hearing of this, with his accustomed treachery came 
upon the little band unawares in the night, and made them pris- 
oners. 



270 



LIFE OF COLUAfBUS. 



On all sides, we are told, murmurs of disaffection and hatred 
were heard against the admiral. He was aware of the utter de- 
testation in which he was held, but hoped, by inspiring terror, 
to prevent an outburst against himself. Adrian de Moxica was 
in his power. lie determined to put him to death, and thus in- 
timidate all who should thereafter dare to oppose his wishes, or 
remonstrate against his tyranny. Without legal authority, and 




Columbus kicks Moxioa feom the Battlements. 



with scarce the form of a trial, Moxica was condemned to instant 
death. He requested to be allowed to confess — a demand which 
was grudgingly granted by the saintlike Christopher. So great 
was his thirst for vengeance, that even this pious delay was more 
than he could brook. A priest being summoned, Moxica, in 
those last moments — we read in an old work — " confessing, de- 
laying, and then beginning again, accused Columbus of having 
caused the troubles, whereupon he, indignant at his audacity, 
spurned him from the battlements." Some writers represent 
Moxica as delaying death as long as possible by prolonging his 
confession, at which Columbus, becoming indignant, ordered 
him to be thrown from the battlements. But from all we caa 



MOXIOA KICKED FROM THE BATTLEMENTS. 



271 



gather, he met his fate fearlessly, and, in that last solemn mo- 
ment, accused Columbus of the crimes which had brought misery 
upon the island. The latter, furious at being unable to conquer 
the si3irit of his victim even in death, in an outburst of passion, 
similar to that he gave vent to in Cadiz toward Fonseca's treas- 
urer, kicked the manacled prisoner from the high walls of the 
fortress into the fosse below. 

Such is the atrocious act which historians record, yet seem 
blind to the horror it must inspire in all humane breasts ; they 
expend their choicest pathos, and would move their readers to 




Spaniards executed by Bartholomew Cohjmbus. 



tears, when relating the misfortunes (self-created) of Columbus, 
yet recount the awful murder of Moxica in terms seemingly un- 
conscious that it should stir up any other feeling than that of 
admiration for the murderer. 

Irving writes : " Columbus, losing all patience, in his mingled 
indignation and scorn, ordered the dastardly wretch to be flung 
headlong from the battlements." 

Does it not surprise the reader that an author can use such 
language in describing such a scene, and thus make himself not 
merely the apologist, but the approver of brutal cruelty ? 



272 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



De Lorgues, who seems not very nnjiistlj to consider this 
act as militating somewhat against the canonization of Cuhim- 
bus, which he so strenuously advocates, denies his perpetration 
of it, and lays it to the charge of Roldan, a violation of truth too 
daring for any former historian to have attempted, as even the 
eulogists and most ardent admirers of Columbus admit his part 
in this atrocious crime. Murio;^ circumstantially relates how 
Eoldan left to the admiral the judgment of Moxica ; how the 
admiral, in the dead of night, made the latter prisoner, con- 
ducted him to the fortress of Concepcion, and had him exe- 
cuted.'" 

The murder of Moxica was but a commencement of the sum- 
mary proceedings of Columbus. lie and his brother set out 
upon an expedition through the island, taking with them a 
priest. Wherever they came npon a disaffected Spaniard, he 
was seized, the priest confessed him, and he was hanged forth- 
with ; this was done, we read, " that the Indians might be again 
brought to pay their tributes, to the end that their majesties 
might have wherewith to defray the expenses they were at, and 
the admiraVs enemies might give over railing.''^ '" 




From PniLOPo.No. (^.\ !.,.,>. etc.) 

'The Indians wore submissive, dreadin? the admiral and so desirous to please him that Ihey 
readily became Christians only to oblige him." — " Ilistoria del Amirante," chapter Ix-^cxiv. 



'-^ Munoz, " Ilistoria del Xuevo Mundo," li))ro vi., p. 338. 
125 iierrera, " West Indies," Decade I., book iv., chapter i. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

DISPLEASTJEE OF THE SOVEREIGNS AGAIXST COLUMBUS, — THEY SEND 

OUT BOBADILLA TO ESTVESTIGATE HIS CONDUCT. ACTION OF BO- 

BADILLA. 

While Columbus thus outraged decency and humanity in 
the island of Hispaniola, his downfall was impending on the 
other side of the ocean. The king and queen, considering the 
many complaints made against him, as also the evident misrule 
prevailing in their Western possessions, the persistent export of 
slaves against their express command, and his repeated false- 
hoods and exaggerations, wisely resolved that his rule in Hispa- 
niola, as in all the other newly-found lands, should cease. They 
appointed Francisco de Bobadilla to examine into the complaints 
made against him, also into the rebellion of which he accused 
Roldan. He was, in their name, to take possession of all for- 
tresses, ships, and other property of the crown, to assume the 
rank and title of judge, and governor of the island. 

As his biographers reach this period of Columbus's histoiy, 
language, of whatever country, seems scarce to contain adequate 
terms in which to express their sympathizing pity for the martyr 
hero. The ingratitude of human nature in general, and princely 
nature in particular, is dwelt upon in strong, if not exactly origi- 
nal or novel terms. 

He, however, who considers the facts calmly and dispassion- 
ately, will readily agree with us, that the sovereigns did not deal 
harshly with Columbus. They acted with all the consideration 
he could expect, and with far more leniency than he deserved. 
They had long doubted his etficiency as a ruler, and the disorders 
prevailing in Hispaniola, and his utter unpopularity, confirmed 
this doubt. They regretted the foolish haste with which they 



274 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

had intrusted him with many of their subjects. His enterprise, 
which he had promised should so largely enrich them, had cost 
much and paid nothing ; ships returned to Spain from the distant 
islands far more heavily laden with complaints against Colum- 
bus than with the gold he had promised. His veracity and hon- 
esty aj)peared in a doubtful light, when no substantial corrobora- 
tion was forthcoming of the wondrous tales he had circulated of 
a land so rich in gold that it could be no other than that of 
Ophir. Moreover, hundreds of unfortunates who had gone out 
under promises of royal pay, and whose salaries Columbus had 
withheld, congregated around the palace, loudly petitioning for 
pay, and exhibiting their poverty and misery wherever the king 
and queen showed themselves, exclaiming, when they saw the 
sons of Columbus (Fernando and Diego) in royal service, " Be- 
hold the sons of the Admiral of Mosquito-land, the discoverer 
of lalse and deceitful countries, to be the ruin and burial-place 
of Spanish hidalgos ! " — " "Which made us," observes Fernando, 
in his history, " cautious of appearing before them." 

This accumulated evidence against Columbus determined the 
sovereigns to send out some one who should make them truthful 
reports as to the troubles prevailing in their new possessions. 
They chose, as we have stated, their commander, Francisco de 
Bobadilla, and on March 21, 1499, signed a commission, ordering 
him to " inquire what persons had risen against justice," and to 
proceed against them according to law. Two months later they 
seem to have fully resolved that Columbus should be superseded ; 
and, on the 21st of May, two other commissions were furnished 
Bobadilla, The first gave the government of the Indies to the 
commander, Francisco de Bobadilla, and contains the following 
comprehensive and conclusive clause : 

" It is our will that if the commander, Francisco de Boba- 
dilla, should think it necessary for our service and the purpose 
of justice, that any cavalier or other persons, who are at present 
in those islands — or may arrive there — should leave them, and 
not return and reside in them, and that sliould come and present 
themselves before us, he may command, in our name, and oblige 
them to depart. And whomsoever he thus commands, we hereby 
order that immediately, without waiting to inquire or consult 
us, or to receive from us any other letter or command, and with- 
out interposing appeal or supplication, they obey whatever he 



BOBADILLA SENT TO HISPANIOLA— HIS POWERS. 275 

shall say and order, under the penalties he shall impose on our 
part." ''" 

All possibility of disobedience and resistance, or excuse there- 
for, seems to be here forestalled, but to little effect, as the conduct 
of Columbus will prove. 

The second letter-patent, or commission, commanded Colum- 
bus and his brothers to deliver up to Bobadilla all fortresses, 
ships, arms, etc., " under penalty of incurring the punishment to 
which those are subject who refuse to surrender fortresses and 
other trusts when commanded by the sovereigns." "^ 

ll^or were these comprehensive commissions all. Foreseeing, 
no doubt, the reluctance with which Columbus would resign a 
position for which he was so unfit, the sovereigns addressed a 
letter to him, which they intrusted to Bobadilla. It ran thus : 

" To Christopher Coluivibus, ou7' Admiral of the Ocean Sea : 

" We have ordered the commander, Francisco de Bobadilla, 
to acquaint you with some things from us ; therefore we desire 
you to give him entire credit, and to obey him. 

" Given at Madeid, May 21, 1499." 

These commissions, we have seen, were signed in 1499, with 
ill-timed consideration. The sovereigns, however, still refrained 
from dispatching Bobadilla. Had they done so immediately, 
Moxica might have escaped his awful fate ; and many others, 
who were put to death without trial, might have been spared. 

It was not till the arrival of the ships containing Koldan's 
followers, and the slaves presented to them by Columbus, that 
the indignation of the queen was thoroughly aroused. " What 
right," she is said angrily to have exclaimed, " has my admiral 
to enslave my subjects ? " She immediately ordered a proclama- 
tion to be made, that those slaves which had been given away 
by Columbus and brought to Spain, should be immediately de- 
livered to Bobadilla (whom she determined to send out without 
further delay), and restored to liberty in their native land. Ac- 
cording to Herrera and others, the penalty imposed upon those 
not delivering up the said slaves, was death. 

Invested, then, with the remarkably full and unconditional 

'-« Navarette, " CoUec. Dip.," vol. ii., p. 266. 
1" Idem., p. 267. 



276 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

authority as contained in the four letters-patent ah-cady men- 
tioned, and provided, besides, with numerous blank letters, 
signed by the sovereigns, to be filled up as he thought proper, 
Bobadilla left Spain in July, 1500, to arrive in Hispaniola on the 
23d of August of that year. 

It becomes us carefully to examine this episode in the history 
of Columbus. Bobadilla has been energetically denounced. Fer- 
nando is foremost among those who accuse him of obstinacy, arro- 
gance, and vindictiveness, and most historians have followed his 
example. But Fernando, w^e must remember, was the son of 
Columbus ; and most of his biographers are his admirers and 
apologists, quand rtieTne ', their opinions, therefore, should be 
received with extreme caution. There are, however, historians 
who give Bobadilla credit for ability and integrity, while tliose 
most bitter against him have never impugned his incontestable 
personal incorruptibility. He was intrusted with as high powers 
as a sovereign could confer upon a subject and agent, yet he did 
not abuse that power; and there is no evidence that the extraor- 
dinary trust reposed in him was ever used in a manner deroga- 
tory to his own honor, or detrimental to the interests of the 
crown. Regarded from a humane and moral point of view, his 
conduct was praiseworthy, while legally it was not only just and 
equitable, but the only course he could possibly have jmrsued in 
justice to the sovereigns, and in the discharge of his duties. 

As the little fleet was sighted oif the harbor of San Domingo, 
a canoe was sent out to inquire after a son of Columbus who was 
expected. This messenger was informed by Bobadilla that he 
had come out as commissioner to investigate charges touching 
the late rebellion. The master of the ships ashed news of the 
island, and was told that seven of the Spaniards, into whose con- 
duct Bobadilla came to inquire, were already hanged, and that 
five others, among them young Guevara, awaited a similar fate. 

As soon as the report was spread that a commissioner had 
arrived to investigate the charges made against the so-called reb- 
els, there was much commotion in the island, but of a different 
character from what might have been expected had Columbus 
been in the right. His brothers and adherents evinced manifest 
uneasiness, while the accused rejoiced that at length justice, and 
not despotism and i:)ersonal spite, was to decide their fate. 

Bobadilla remained on board his ship diu'ing the day sue* 



GIBBET SCENES— THE COLUMBOS DISLOYAL. 277 

ceeding liis arrival ; crowds of Spaniards visited him bearing but 
one tale, that of tlie oppressions and vt^rongs they had suffered at 
the hands of Columbus. Tliese complaints, bitter and innu- 
merable as they were, do not seem to have influenced Bobadilla, 
except in so far as to determine him to assume jurisdiction over 
the so-called rebels at once, and so retard or prevent, as ju-stice 
might demand, the executions then pending. In this resolution 
he was strengthened by the sickening sight which met his eye 
as he entered the river; on either bank, the dead body of a 
Spaniard swung ghastly from a gibbet ; these executions had 
apparently been recent — Columbus had anticipated his arrival 
and defeated the humane intentions of the sovereigns, in. so far 
as these victims were concerned. 

He landed the next morning, attended mass, and, after that 
ceremony (being informed that Columbus and his brother, the 
adelantado, were absent), in the presence of Don Diego, who 
was in command of the fortress, of Roderigo Perez, the servants 
of the admiral, and the large concourse assembled, ordered his 
commission (authorizing him to investigate the rebellion, and 
commanding Columbus, and all others in authority, to aid him 
in discharging his duties) to be read. 

This, it will be remembered, was the simplest and least com- 
prehensive of his letters-patent. He commenced, however, by 
reading it, thinking first to ascertain the causes of the trouble, 
and then, if necessary, investigate the conduct of Columbus and 
his brothers, and, if it proved blameworthy, to remove them. He 
therefore demanded that the persons of the prisoners should be 
surrendered to him, and the written accusations against them to 
be given into his keeping, requiring, at the same time, their ac- 
cusers to appear before him. 

The daily impending execution of the prisoners, by order of 
Columbus, rendered it necessary that their persons should be 
placed in safety, at least till they had been tried. The action of 
Bobadilla v^^as, therefore, strictly lawful. Few, with any knowl- 
edge of law, or any feelings of justice, will fail to perceive that 
he could not have acted otherwise. 

Don Diego, however, refused to deliver the prisoners, refused 
to recognize the authority of Bobadilla, and alleged that Colum- 
bus's power was superior to any the former could have been in- 
vested with. 



278 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Bobadilla regarded this as perhaps a natural and excusable 
caution under the circumstances ; he imagined that, of course, 
when Diegu should learn how full were his powers, he would no 
longer hesitate to obey the dictates of his sovereigns." He, there- 
fore, the next morning, before the assembled multitude, read the 
second commission which created him governor of the island, 
and ordered that he should be implicitly obeyed, without demur 
or appeal. He then took the accustomed oath of office, and 
again demanded the surrender of the prisoners. But he soon 
learned that he was to encounter nothing but opposition and de- 
fiance from Columbus and his brotliers. It would naturally be 
supposed that, when a judge arrived whose mission was to try, 
and to treat, according to their deserts, those whom he had ac- 
cused of rebellion and heinous crimes, Columbus and his broth- 
ers would gladly have welcomed that judge, and assisted him to 
the utmost. 

That they persisted from the first in regarding Bobadilla as 
an enemy may be thus explained : They knew that their con- 
duct would not bear investigation ; that, if it was once brought 
to light, their power was ended, and they themselves would per- 
haps suffer the penalty of their crimes, while the innocence of 
those they accused would be revealed. Columbus had indeed 
petitioned for a judge, but for one subservient to him — in his 
pay — whose justice should be what he willed. Bobadilla, coming 
with power superior to his own, received from the sovereigns, 
was not what he bargained for. 

Diego Columbus would no more regard the second commis- 
sion than he had done the first, and still refused to deliver the 
prisoners. 

Bobadilla now perceived something more serious and ofien- 
sive than caution in this obstinate resistance. He recoe^iized how 
wisely ho had been intrusted with a letter expressly ordering 
Columbus and his brotliers to deliver up to him all fortresses, 
etc., and discovered that the sovereigns had foreseen the opposi- 
tion he M'as to encounter. He therefore ordered this letter, a 
death-blow to the authority of Columbus, to be read ; as well as 
another, dated May 30th, ordering him to pay the arrears due to 
those persons in royal service, whom Columbus had neglected or 
refused to remunerate. This proclamation was received with 
much applause. It is much to the credit of Bobadilla, and a proof 



ROYAL ORDER DISOBEYED. 279 

of the moderation with which he proceeded, that he had not 
sooner read what was to render him and his mission popular. 

Let us observe the wording of the first of these documents. 
It reads thus : 

" Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella, by the grace of God, 
etc. ... to you Don Christopher Columbus, our admiral of the 
ocean, and to you the brothers of the said admiral, in whose power 
are fortresses, houses, ships, etc., we send for our governor of the 
islands, the commander Francisco de Bobadilla. ... we order 
you to deliver the said fortresses, houses, etc., to the said com- 
mander, or the persons he shall appoint, and to give him com- 
plete power over the said fortresses, etc., all of which we com- 
mand you to do under pain of incurring those penalties which 
those persons incur who refuse to deliver fortresses, or other 
things, when ordered to do so by their sovereigns." 

This would appear explicit and peremptory enough, Don 
Diego, however, still refused to deliver either fortress or prison- 
ers. Bobadilla then repaired to the fortress, and, when the al- 
calde who kept it appeared on the battlements, ordered the letter 
to be read to him, and the seals and signatures of the sovereigns 
to be held up to his view. The alcalde, however, having doubt- 
less received his orders from Diego, refused to admit Bobadilla, 
who then appealed to the people and demanded their assistance, 
but urged that no violence should be employed save in case of 
resistance. 

The fortress was easily taken, being no better constructed 
than most other public works erected by Columbus. The pris- 
oners were discovered loaded with irons. Bobadilla delivered 
them to an alguazil. 

Irving terms this conduct arrogant and precipitate, but the 
accusation is totally unfounded. Had the prisoners been deliv- 
ered up to him, and his first commission been obeyed, Bobadilla 
would have proceeded first to the examination of the charges 
against them ; then, if necessary, to that of the conduct of Colum- 
bus. The refusal to obey at the outset created the necessity of 
enforcing his authority by reading the other letters, which had 
been provided him to meet just such an emergency, and without 
the aid of which he was powerless, in view of Diego Columbus's 
insubordination, to perform the duties of his mission. 

He might with justice have imprisoned Don Diego and the 
19 



280 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

alcalde who held the fortress, on the charge of treason, as they 
refused to obey the commands of their sovereigns. This he did 
not do, and if he afterward imprisons the three Cohimhos, it was 
not till still weightier evidence had convicted them of greater 
crimes, and rendered it necessary. 

To relieve in a measure the extreme misery into which the 
Spaniards in Hispaniola had Mien, partly from the non-pay- 
ment of their salaries, which had been withheld by Columbus, 
partly from the wretched state of the colony, Bobadilla now 
published a license allowing all to search for gold for twenty 
years, paying only one-eleventh instead of one-third, as they had 
done till now, to the government. This proceeding, though cer- 
tainly humane and wise, excited the indignation of Columbus, 
whose tenth of the revenues would, he feared, be thus materially 
diminished ; he, therefore, immediately on hearing of it, pub- 
lished a proclamation, in which he declared Bobadilla to have no 
power or authority, and forbade any to obey him. 

The latter sent an alcalde^ bearing a copy of the letters- 
patent, to acquaint him in due form with his appointment as 
governor, but forebore as yet sending the peremptory note ad- 
dressed to Columbus only, bidding the latter obey him. But, in 
the face of all the letters of the sovereigns, which proclaimed 
that there was to be no appeal to them from any proceeding 
which Bobadilla might think fit, Columbus still resisted ; pub- 
lished and proclaimed that Bobadilla's powers were not valid — 
that his own were greater. He declared, however, afterward, 
that he wrote to Bobadilla, assuring him that he would soon leave 
the island entirely to his government. This he only did, how- 
ever, he confesses in his letter to the nurse of Prince John (Dona 
Juana de la Torres), which contains his own defense of his con- 
duct in these proceedings, to gain time, that their highnesses 
might perhaps change their minds. This statement clearly 
proves his guilt. Had he, indeed, believed that Bobadilla was — 
as he had publicly proclaimed throughout the island — acting 
without due authority, he would not have desired delay in order 
that the sovereigns might change their minds ; who, if they had 
no part in the proceedings of Bobadilla, and were unaware of 
his conduct, could not have altered a policy which they had 
never enjoined. The direct opposition to the royal commands 
(which directed that their agent was to be obeyed without appeal 



TEEASON" OF COLUMBUS— JUSTICE OF BOBADILLA. 281 

or delay), perpetrated by Columbus, rendered him clearly guilty 
of no less a crime than treason ; and he and his brothers " in- 
curred those penalties which those persons incur who refuse to 
deliver fortresses or other things, when ordered to do so by their 
sovereigns." '"^ 

It is absurd for historians to declare, as they constantly do, 
that Bobadilla overstepped his authority, and that Isabella never 
intended him to supersede Columbus, but merely to punish those 
who had rebelled against the latter. If this had been the case, 
why was he provided with those commissions in which Colum- 
bus and his brothers were expressly ordered to deliver to him all 
things pertaining to the crown ? 

Why should a letter have been written addressed solely to 
Columbus, commanding his obedience to and belief in Boba- 
dilla? 

The continued and insolent resistance he encountered con- 
vinced the new governor that consideration and delicacy were 
thro^vn away upon such a man as Columbus. He therefore sent 
to him Yelasquez, deputy-treasurer, and a Franciscan friar, bear- 
ing the last-named letter. This document made Columbus fear 
the consequences of persisting in his insubordination ; and, as it 
was accompanied by a summons from Bobadilla to appear before 
him, he, with a show of humility, set out for San Domingo. But 
rumors, which appear not without foundation, reached Bobadilla, 
that this humility was only feigned — that he was in reality at- 
tempting to rouse the native inhabitants of the Yega to aid him 
in opposing the new governor."' 

Considering that the conduct of Columbus and his brother 
Diego had been, up to this time, in their refusal to obey the 
royal mandates, of so treasonable a nature as to render the re- 
ported attempt at rebellion probable, and justly holding that 
they deserved imprisonment for what was well proved against 
them, as well as for their resistance of the sovereign will as 

^^^ See ante, extract from royal mandate. 

'" " It is also said that tl|e new governor sent letters to the king, written with the 
Admiralles hande, in strange and unknown sypherings, to his brother, the Lieutenant, 
being absent, willing him to be in a readiness, with a power of armed men to come 
and aid him, if the Governor should profifer him any violence. Whereof the Gov- 
ernor having knowledge (as he sayth), being also advertised that the Lieutenant was 
gone to his brother before the men, which he had prepared there in a readiness, ap. 
prehended them both unawares, before the multitude came together." — Peter Martyr, 
" Decade L," book vii. 



282 -LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

vested in liiin, Bobadilla had them both imprisoned and pnt 
in irons on board a caravel ^vhic•h ^vas shortly to retnrn to 
Spain. 

With unpardonable unfairness, Irving, alluding to the im- 
prisonment of Don Diego, says: 

'' The admiral's brother, Don Diego, was seized, thrown in 
irons, and confined on board a caravel, vnthoui any reason being 
assigned for his imprisonment,^^ and does not hesitate to write 
thus after enumerating all the successive eflbrts of Bobadilla to 
obtain obedience to the orders of the sovereigns, whose letters 
he had publicly read and exhibited ; after recording Diego's re- 
peated refusal to recognize the royal authority ; and after, in the 
very paragraph in which the above sentence occurs, recording 
the nimor, as he terms it, of Columbus seeking to excite the na- 
tives to rebellion. 

There is certainly no more flagrant act of treason and diso- 
bedience to royal commands extant than the insubordination of 
Diego — indeed, of all the Columbos ; yet, while he records these 
acts of insubordination and rebellion, Mr. Irving still has the 
courage to write that Diego was imjyrisoned icithoiit any reason 
being assigned for his imprisonment. 

As for Christopher Columbus, the charges against him were 
manifold. It was alleged that he ill-treated and abused the na- 
tives, refusing to let them be baptized, that they might continue 
slaves ; "" that, acting as a kind of pawnbroker and money-lend- 
er, he had traded upon the necessities of the Spaniards — he had 
inveigled and impoverished, giving them barely wherewithal to 
keep them from starvation, then enforcing his collections through 
a royal garnashee^^^ 

Kor was this all. The queen called him to account for dis- 
honesty in oilice, thus: 

"The said admiral \vAy\\\^ farmed o>'t the offices of algiiazil 
and notary in the island of Hispaniola, for a certain period, we 
command that the moneys and the revenues derived from the 
said offices be divided into ten parts, nine for us and one for the 
admiral, deducting first the expenses and indemnifications of the 
aforesaid ofiices." "' 

130 Irving, " Columbus," book xiii., cliapter iv, 

"• Navarette, vol. ii., p. 222. 

"' Navarette, " CoUoc. Dip." vol. ii., p. 308. Columbus complained of this order, 



COLUMBUS IN" lEONS— HIS GRACELESS COOK. 283 

Peter Martyr tlius sums up tlie accusations made against 
Columbus by the Spaniards in the island : 

" They accuse the admiral and his brother to be unjust men, 
cruel enemies, and shedders of the Spanish blood, declaring that 
upon every light occasion they would rack them, hang them, 
and head them, and that they took pleasure therein ; and- that 
they departed from them as from cruel tyrants and wild beasts, 
rejoicing in blood, also the kings' enemies ; affirming, likewise, 
that they well perceived their intent to be none otfier than to 
usurp the empire of the islands, which thing (they said) they 
suspected by a thousand conjectures, and especially in that they 
would permit none to resort to the gold-mines, but only such as 
were their familiars." *" 

All the above charges appear to have been substantiated ; the 
proceedings were evidently had in all due form. Charlevoix re- 
lates that the suit against Columbus was conducted in writing — 
that written charges were sent to him, to which he replied in the 
same way. This was undoubtedly the case, as Bobadilla appears 
to have been an able judge and a discreet lawyer ; and the alle- 
gation of many historians that he imprisoned Columbus without 
due cause or investigation, is contradicted in their own accounts 
of the proceedings ; witness Irving and others. 

The result of the investigation was, as we have seen, the 
imprisonment of Columbus. It was his own cook, we are told, 
who riveted the fetters, "with as much readiness and alacrity,'' 
quoth Las Casas, "as though he were serving him with the 
choicest viands." 

This little incident is not without import. Colmnbus might 
perhaps have been unpopular with the multitude, and yet a 
good man ; but when we find his own domestics, who owed 
place and living to him, and who would naturally be supposed 
to regret his downfall, rejoicing instead, we cannot but believe 
the man to have been thoroughly contemptible ; the "graceless 
cook " riveting the fetters militates far more, we take it, against 
the pei*sonal character of Columbus, than of his culinary menial. 

and urged his right to fill the offices with his servants, requiring them to perform the 
duties (poorly, we apprehend) while he pocketed the proceeds ; yet we are continually 
called upon to admire the exalted and glorious opinions he entertained of his ofiBce. 
'33 Peter Martyr, Decade I., book vii. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 

COLTMBrs's DEFENSE OF UIS CO^T)UCT KETIEWED. 

It would be useless to attempt a further refutation of the 
tirades launched ao-ainst the new crovernor bv the numerous and 
partial biographers of Columbus, who at this period of his his- 




Columbus.— (From Munoz, "Ilistoria lUl Xuevo Miindo.") 

tory, couple the name of Bobadilla with every opprobrious epi- 
thet propriety will allow ; and the more modem the historian, 



COLUMBUS MAKES A LAME DEFENSE. 285 

and, therefore, the farther removed from the scene and time of 
action, the more virulent his attacks, as also his sympathy for his 
hero Christopher. We have stated what was the course pur- 
sued by Bobadilla ; and even when the simple facts are related, 
without comment or explanation, it is plain to all that it was a 
just and equitable one. The true merits of the case can, how- 
ever, be easily decided and established by leaving historians, 
whether partial or impartial, and proceeding at once to the 
fountain-head, viz., to what Columbus himself has to say. He 
certainly, more than any of his historians, was interested in 
proving his innocence, and we may reasonably suppose that he 
omitted no plea which could, in the slightest degree, exculpate 
him, and refrained from no charge against Bobadilla wherein 
there was the slightest semblance of truth. 

Fortunately for us, this defense, written by Columbus to the 
nurse of Prince Juan, no doubt with the intention that it should 
be shown to the sovereigns, still exists ; it was written during 
his voyage to Spain, or after his arrival there. 

The lame and bungling explanation of his conduct, the ridic- 
ulous character of the charges he prefers against Bobadilla, and 
above all, the admissions he (no doubt unintentionally) makes in 
his letter, may furnish Some facts which, though mixed with 
much falsehood, may enable the reader to jndge of the relative 
merits of the accuser and the accused. 

We quote the passages from this letter which relate especial- 
ly to the question before us, and call the attention of the reader, 
now and then, to the absurdity, falsehood, or self-inculpation, they 
contain ; for, though an unbiased, intelligent mind would at 
once perceive all this, historians have so persistently declared 
Bobadilla wrong, and Columbus right, that an unbiased judg- 
ment will not easily be formed. 

Columbus writes : "... In the mean time Bobadilla arrived. 
. . . The day after his arrival he created himself governor." 

Here is a specimen of our hero's veracity. Bobadilla did not 
create himself governor^ but assumed that title and office in virtue 
of the full and comprehensive letters-patent from Isabella, who 
had clothed him with all the power in the premises the crown 
could devolve upon an agent, besides commanding Columbus in 
a special letter addressed to that worthy to obey him. We see, 



286 TJFE OF COLUMBUS. 

therefore, the insolence of the falsehood that Bobadilla created 
himself governor. 

Columbus, too, would liave it appear that his conduct was 
most precipitate. TJte day after his arrival he created himself 
governor. It will be remembered that Bobadilla did not assume 
the government until the brother of Columbus had repeatedly 
refused to deliver to him the prisoners he had been sent to try. 
This treasonable effrontery and disregard of royal orders created 
the necessity for Bobadilla to act as judge and governor, and act 
immediately, for those of the prisoners who were not already 
hanged were liable to execution at any moment, in violation 
alike of law, justice, and the royal command. There was cer- 
tainly no undue haste on the part of Bobadilla. An oppression, 
worse than that visited upon the people of God in Egypt, per- 
vaded the island — robbery, murder, and manslaughter, were prac- 
tised by Columbus, who now raised himself in open rebellion 
against the crown as personated by Bobadilla. 

The ghastly dead swung from the gibbets ; the blood of Span- 
iards and of Indians, like that of Abel, cried to Heaven from the 
ground. Had he not moved promptly in the discharge of his 
duty, he would have deserved the odium of mankind, as well as 
the displeasure of his sovereigns ; as it was, he resolved, even in 
San Domingo, to magnify the law and make it honorable ; and, 
having used the mildest measures, and assumed the least of the 
authorities vested in him without success, he naturally produced 
his higher authority and proceeded to more vigorous measures, 
and seems thereby to deserve the commendation of all who 
prize humanity and justice. 

The letter continues thus : 

". . . . He" (Bobadilla) "published exemptions from the 
payment of the gold and of the tithes, and, in fine, announced 
a general franchise for the space of twenty years." 

This action will be commended by the humane. Bobadilla 
did much to relieve both natives and colonists from the cruel 
tyranny and extortion practised by Columbus. 

" Having brought with him a considerable number of blank 
letters, signed by their highnesses, he filled up some of them to 
the alcalde (Tloldan) and his consorts full of favors and commen- 
dations ; but he never sent either letter or message to me, nor 
has he done so to this day." 

/ 



FALSEHOOD AND TREASON OF COLUMBUS. 287 

The possession of the blank letters signed by tlie sovereigns, 
constitutes most conclusive evidence of the confidence they re- 
posed in Bobadilla. They seem to have furnished them that he 
might silence any unanticipated cavil on the part of Columbus, 
and be able to impress that lawless usurper with the necessity 
of respecting and obeying the man thus accredited by his mas- 
ters. As to the charge made by Columbus that the new gov- 
ernor never sent him " either letter or message," its deliberate 
falsity is exposed by his own son Fernando, who says, in his 
history, that Bobadilla " required the admiral to repair to him 
without delay, because it w^as convenient for their majesties' 
service he should do so ; and^ to hack his summons, on the 7th 
of September sent him the king's letter by Friar Juan de la 
Sera, which was to this effect." 

Then follows the letter addressed to Columbus which we 
have already quoted. Tet, in the face of these facts, Columbus 
unblushingly asserts that Bobadilla sent him neither letter nor 
message. He then continues : 

" . . . . No sooner was I informed of his having granted 
these exemptions .... I made verbal and written declaration 
that his powers were incompetent to do so, as mine were the 
strongest." 

"When we reflect that these verbal and written declarations 
were made by Columbus, when fully advised of the ample pow- 
ers vested in Bobadilla, and of the royal command that he and 
his brothers should obey him, and deliver up all fortresses to 
him, it will not be necessary to argue the question of veracity or 
treason as regards the action and assertion of Columbus. He 
certainly spoke as a liar, and acted as a traitor. The pretended 
motives which he declares to have prompted his misconduct are, 
therefore, but aggravations of his crime. 

" . . . . He ordered inquisition to be made respecting me, 
wdth reference to imputed misdeeds, such as were never invented 
in hell." 

With this statement fresh from his pen, he wiU not hesitate 
to affirm, a little farther on : " Upon my oath I declare to you I 
have no idea why I am imprisoned." He was as well aware of 
the character of his crimes and the charges preferred against 
him, as was Guido Faux, or any other criminal that has suffered 
the penalty of the law. 



288 LIFE OF COLUMBUS 

" .... In saying that the commander " (Bobadilla) " could 
not grant exemptions, I did what was proper." 

lie tails, however, to demonstrate how, when overtly disre- 
garding and opposing the commands of his sovereigns, he was 
doing what was proper. 

" If their highnesses were to give orders for a general inquiry 
here, I assure you it would discover such things as to make it 
wonderful the island is not swalloAved up. I think you will 
remember, madam, that, when I was driven by a storm into 
Lisbon, I was falsely accused of going to the king, in order to 
deliver up the Indies to him." 

When he enlarges upon the iniquities of the island, and won- 
ders it was not swallowed up, he should have remembered that 
he had brought it into its present state of degradation and 
misery. Plis allusion to the charge of treason preferred after his 
visit to Portugal, is traveling from the case in hand, where his 
guilt is evident, to one where it appears more doubtful. 

" However ignorant I may be, nobody can suppose me to 
be so ignorant as not to know that, if the Indies were mine, I 
should not be able to keep possession of them without the aid 
of a prince. Such being the case, wliere should I lind greater 
support, and more certainty of not being entirely driven from 
them, than in the king and queen, our lords, who, from nothing, 
have raised me to such high honors ? " 

Notwithstanding his asseveration that he knows nothing of 
the char2:es made aorainst him, he here seems to be defending 
himself against one of them, which was that he had made war 
upon the government, for the pui-pose of ultimately gaining pos- 
session of the new lands. 

That Isabella had raised him from nothing to a position far 
above his deserts, all will agree ; but it is not so easy to discover 
the pertinence of his allusioii to thegi'eat support she was giving 
him in Ilispaniola, and security against being ultimately driven 
from it, as she had, in a solemn and formal manner, after years 
of deliberation, removed him from otlice, and subsequently fur- 
bade his returning to Ilispaniola. 

" . . . . What I have now unwillingly stated is to refute a 
malicious calumny which I would not willingly recall even in 
my dreams, as the behavior of Bobadilla would maliciously give 
another coloring to it ; but I shall be able to prove that his ig- 



FALSEHOODS OF COLUMBUS. 289 

norance, extreme cowardice, and inordinate cupidity, have been 
the cause of all that has happened." 

This charge bears falsehood upon its face. Are we to believe 
that the advent of Bobadiila in the island, in 1500, caused all 
the avarice, cruelty, falsehood, and murder, perpetrated by Co- 
lumbus during the seven years preceding that advent which had 
converted his " paradise " into a hell, complaints of which had 
caused Bobadiila to be sent out ? 

" . . . . He neither spoke to me himself nor permitted any 
one else to speak to me, until now; and, upon my oath, I declare 
to you that I have no idea why I am imprisoned." 

This, as we have shown, is a most barefaced falsehood. He first 
says Bobadiila caused investigation to be made touching crimes 
imputed to him, the like of which were never invented in hell. 
He attempts to defend himself against some of these charges, 
and then swears he knows not why he is imprisoned. 

" .... I have already mentioned that, with six hundred 
thousand maravedis, I should have paid everybody, without in- 
jury to any person, and that I possessed more than four mill- 
ions of tithes, without touching the gold." 

This allusion to his abundant resources does not come with a 
good grace when we remember the distress and suffering he had 
caused in the island (many dying of starvation) by withhold- 
ing the pay of those who had labored for him, as well as for 
the crown. ISTo wonder that Bobadiila, when he found this ac- 
cumulation of gold and tithes, upon taking up his abode in 
the government-house, devoted a portion to the payment of 
what was so justly due the many unfortunate who had been 
defrauded. 

" . . . . Would to God that their highnesses had sent Boba- 
diila, or any other person, two years ago, because I should now 
be free from this scandal and infamy, nor should I have been de- 
prived of my honor ! " 

He no doubt would have had fewer crimes to answer for, such 
as the murder of Moxica, the secretion of the pearls from the 
sovereigns, etc. 

" .... I aver that great numbers of men have been in the 
islands who did not deserve baptism in the eyes of God or man." 

One would think Columbus, in very shame, would have re- 
frained from such an assertion, when he remembered that he 



290 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

himself had requested the prisons to be thrown open and the 
convicts let loose upon the island. 

" . . . . When he " (Bobadilla) " heard of my approach, he 
caused Don Diego to be loaded with irons, and thrown into a 
caravel ; he acted in the same manner toward myself and toward 
the adelantado when he arrived." 

Bobadilla could not have done otherwise than imprison Co- 
lumbus and his brothers, and it ill becomes them to complain of 
his severity. He neither executed them, as they had caused others 
to be executed for lesser crimes than those of which they stood 
convicted, neither did he kick them from the battlements of a 
fortress, but sent them to Spain, where their power for evil would 
be lessened. 

" .... I have been yet more concerned respecting the affair 
of the pearls — that I have not brought them to their highnesses ; 
.... if I have not written respecting this " (the pearls) " to 
their highnesses, it is because I wished first to render an equally 
favorable account of the gold." 

Here, again, we find him defending himself against one of the 
charges of which he professes to be ignorant. His excuse is a 
poor one : accused and convicted of having withheld the pearls, 
and the knowledge of tlieir being in his possession, from the 
sovereigns, he replies that he was silent on this topic because he 
wished to have equally fevorable accounts of the gold. It is 
evident he contemplated extorting further favors and honors 
from the sovereigns on the strength of these pearls. In this 
intention he was, however, frustrated by the arrival of Bobadilla, 
to w'hom this charge against him Avas brought with many others, 
and who, upon investigation, found it to be just, as indeed he 
here confesses it to be, and makes but a lame defense of his evi- 
dent fraud. 

" .... I am judged in Spain as a governor who had been 
sent to a province or city, under regular government, where the 
laws could be executed without fear of endangering the public 
weal. In this I receive enormous wrong. ... I ought to be 
judged as a captain sent from Spain to the Indies, to conquer a 
nation numerous and warlike." 

Here we have proof, upon his own testimony, that he has 
uttered falsehoods from the commencement of his undertaking 
down to the period of which we write. In 1492, he would have 



COLUMBUS AS A WAERIOR. 291 

the world believe that he had discovered an island, and that it 
was inhabited by a naked and inoffensive people, possessing 
neither arms, nor a knowledge of their use — a people so entirely 
powerless that a garrison of forty men would be sufficient to de- 
stroy the whole island."* 

" But supposing," he says in a letter to Raphael Sanchez, on 
his return from his first voyage, speaking of the friendliness of 
the natives, " their feelings should become changed, and they 
should wish to injure those who have remained in the fortress, 
they could not do so, for they have no arms ; they go naked, 
and are, moreover, too cowardly." JSTow, however, he would 
have the world believe he was sent to conquer a people already 
known to be numerous and warlike j he would be thought, not a 
discoverer, but a conqueror. He does not seem to perceive that 
when he admits the laws cannot be executed for fear of endan- 
gering the public weal, he speaks poorly for his own powers of 
governing, which had been inadequate, during seven years' des- 
potic rule, to establish law and order among a people, according 
to his first description, innocent and defenseless ; he loses sight 
of all self-inculpation this incongruity and contradiction may con- 
tain, in his desire to assume the new character of warrior, and 
such a warrior. He continues : 

" . . . . Where, l^y the divine will, I have subdued another 
world to the dominion of the king and queen, our lords, by which 
Spain, which was looked upon as poor, has become very rich." 

We may here remark that, owing to his misconduct, the 
AVestern islands had been the cause of far more expense than 
profit to the Spanish realm. 

" I ought to be judged as a captain who for so many years 
have borne arms without quitting them for an instant. I ought 
to be judged by cavaliers who have themselves won the meed of 
victory — by gentlemen, indeed, and not by lawyers." 

It would be difficult to find a tribunal that would not con- 
demn Columbus, even upon his own testimony. We do not, 
therefore, wonder that he would, by all means, avoid lawyers ; 
no man of common-sense, certainly no lawyer, could be igno- 
rant of his guilt ; he had requested a jndge to be sent out, learned 
in the law, to aid him in trying others, but in his own case he 
would be sole judge. 

*^ See letter to Santangel, 



292 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

" Under any other judgment I sustain great injury, because 
in the Indies there is neither civil right nor judgment-seat.'' 

If there were no organized tribunals, why were Moxica and 
so many other Spaniards executed, without trial, in violation of 
law ? Why were they not sent to Spain for trial, as Columbils 
petitioned for himself? In this confession of there existing 
neither civil right nor judgment-seat in Ilispaniola, and in his 
declaration that he should receive enormous wrong if tried 
there, he plainly admits the enormous wrong perpetrated against 
those he had executed, or, more properly speaking, murdered, 
and he deserved no better fate than his victims. 

He knew that, if those unfortunates had been sent to Spain, 
liis downfall would have been speedy ; they would have lived, 
and he no longer would have had human life at his disposal. 

" . . . . The tidings of the gold which I said I would give, 
are, that on Christmas-day, being greatly afflicted and tormented 
by wicked Christians and the Indians, at the moment of aban- 
doning all, to save, if possible, my life, our Lord comforted me 
miraculously, saying to me, ' Take courage ; do not abandon 
thyself to sadness and fear, I will provide for all. The seven 
years of the term of gold are not yet passed, and in this, as in 
the rest, I will redress thee.' " 

These are the tidings for which Columbus waited before 
writing to the sovereigns about the pearls ; they are eminently 
satisftictory. Imagine a steward or administrator, instead of 
giving an exact account of his stewardship, recounting a vision in 
which he is assured that all will be right, and that God will re- 
dress him ! The blasphemy with Mdiieh Columbus, whenever 
hard pushed for a defense, brings the Almighty to his aid, and in- 
vents a speech, which he puts in the mouth of the Deity, -wherein 
his innocence is declared and his enemies threatened with pun- 
ishment, is revolting in the extreme ; and the enormity of the 
crimes he thus seeks to cover with divine sanction must render 
his hypocrisy still more odious in the eyes of the truly reverent. 

". . . . See, now, what discernment was shown by Bobadilla, 
when he gave up every thing for nothing, and four millions of 
tithes without any reason, and even Avithout being asked to do 
80, and without first giving notice to their highnesses." 

This is an adroit attempt to turn royalty against Bobadilla, 
by appealing to the cupidity of the sovereigns, but it also de- 



BOBADILLA GKOSSLY SLANDEEED. 293 

monstrates an insolent officiousness on tlie part of the writer, 
Avlio would seem to ignore tlie absolute authority vested in Bo- 
badilla by the crown. 

" .... If their highnesses shall give orders for me to be 
judged by others, which I fervently hope will not be the case, 
and impeach me respecting the att'airs of the Indies, I humbly 
supplicate them to send out, at my expense^ two conscientious 
and respectable persons, which will now be easily met with, 
since gold to the amount of five marks may be found in the 
space of four hours." 

Columbus seems to have an idea of impeachment for treason, 
notwithstanding his oath of ignorance in the premises ; there- 
fore he wishes his judges to be in his pay ; and, moreover, he 
would have them men whom the abundance of gold would tempt 
to the island. How unlikely it was that such men would be hon- 
est judges ! It is needless to say, his proposition gives us a view 
of his notions concerning a court of justice, the purity and com]3e- 
tency of a tribunal ; "he too would have judges dependent upon 
his will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount 
and payment of their salaries." Such being the case, we cannot 
but wonder that historians, who would appear impartial, should 
have failed to condemn his corrupt views. 

". . . . The governor" (Bobadilla), "on his arrival in San 
Domingo, took up his abode in my house ; . . . . even a pirate 
does not behave in this manner toward the merchant that he 
plunders." 

This accusation has at first a semblance of truth, as the 
reader may suppose it to have been the private residence of Co- 
lumbus into which Bobadilla intruded; such was not the case — 
it was the " government-house" in which Columbus had resided 
at the capital of the island, and in which all succeeding govern- 
ors were expected to take up their abode during their term of 
office. In time Bobadilla was succeeded by Ovando, yet we do 
not find the former complaining that the latter took up his 
abode " in his house ; " such , a complaint would have been as 
preposterous as for a retiring President of the United States to 
remonstrate against his successors inhabiting the "White House. 

" . . . . That which grieved me most was the seizure of my 
papers, of which I have never been able to recover one ; and 
those which would have been most useful to me in proving my 



294 LIFE OF COLOIBUS. 

innocence, are precisely those ^A•bicll he has kept most carefully 
concealed." 

The seizure of papers is a usual proceeding in case of sus- 
picion of most crimes, more especially of treason ; but, though 
these ] tapers might very well be used to prove his guilt, they 
could hardly have proved the innocence of Columbus. The very 
fact that in them he had foreseen accusation, and attempted to 
defend himself, would seem to furnish jprima-facie evidence of 
his guilt, and would have gone far to prove him culpable before 
any legal tribunal. No wonder he feared lawyers. Let us re- 
member, also, how Columbus declares, upon oath, that he is 
ignorant of the cause of his imprisonment ; how, then, could he 
know the precise papers which would have proved his innocence, 
and the precise crime to which they related ? In his despicable 
attempts to blacken Bobadilla, and in his eflforts to establish his 
innocence, he entangles himself in contradictory statements, and 
furnishes conclusive evidence of his own guilt. 

Such is the lame defense he makes. A perusal of this letter, 
with its absurdities, contradictions, and falsehoods, will alone be 
sufficient to convince the impartial that his word is not to be 
depended upon. It therefore goes far to weaken confidence in 
the histories which have hitherto been written of the man, for 
most authors, when making an assertion which they imagine 
liable to disbelief, either from the improbability or from the 
strong evidence against it, consider the statement that for this 
they have the word of Columbus himself, sufficient to remove 
all doubt. 

"With the above letter before him, the reader will be apt to 
think the fact of Columbus's making an assertion sufficient to 
render its veracity suspicious. We, therefore, without further 
attempt to prove the incorrectness (to use a mild term) with 
which authors have represented Columbus as a martyr, Bobadilla 
as a tyrant and usurjier, have contented ourselves with placing 
Columbus's own account of the afl:air and defense of his con- 
duct, as contained in this letter to Prince Juan's nurse, before 
him. It answers a twofold purpose, and not only proves the 
guilt of Columbus, regarding the charges brought against him, 
for which he was imprisoned by Bobadilla, but also the utter 
falsity of his word, and the caution with which a statement made 
by him, or upon his authority, should be received. 



CHAPTEE XXIII. 

COLTTMBUS SENT TO SPAIN IN DISGEACE. BOBADILLA KEPLACED BY 

OVANDO. 

It is certain that the imprisonment of Columbus was re- 
garded as a tiappy event by all the inhabitants of the island. 
Horns were blown in the vicinity of the ship on board which he 
was confined ; lampoons and caricatures were posted in the 
streets, and the multitude gave way to heart-felt and almost wild 
rejoicing at being at last freed from the despotic rule of this in- 
solent jyarvenu. Bobadilla had public opinion decidedly on his 
side, as he had law and equity. The testimony he had collected 
against the three brothers was carefully arranged and sent with 
them to Spain. 

The ships which bore Columbus away from the scenes of his 
chief crimes, set sail in October, 1500, and, after a short voyage, 
landed him in Cadiz. 

Historians unanimously declare that, on his arrival in Spain, 
the sovereigns ordered his immediate release, and professed the 
greatest indignation at the conduct of Bobadilla. It is evident, 
however, that, if they professed to be displeased, their displeas- 
ure was but feigned, and that they were in reality by no means 
ill pleased that the pirate whom they had so unwisely intrust- 
ed with power, and who had shown himself so utterly incapa- 
ble and unworthy, should be deposed. There were, however, 
weighty reasons why Isabella should also be pleased at this depo- 
sition having been effected in such a manner as to admit of her 
denying entire participation in it. It was upon the testimony 
of Columbus, that Alexander YI. had deeded to Spain the islands, 
etc., he professed to have discovered. If it were not unkind, it 
would have been impolitic, therefore, publicly to denounce the 
man by whose perjury she hoped to have obtained a continent. 
20 



296 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

She appears to have been conscious that, to some extent, she 
was at the mercy of this man, whose power consisted in the very 
crimes and frauds of which she knew him to have been guilty, 
for he had shown her that there was no treachery too base, no 
perjury too great, for him to perpetrate and commit. 

Isabella's policy, during her whole reign, may be chiefly if 
not solely expressed by the word " craft." Ko wonder, then, 
that she, her object accomplished — the rule of Columbus brought 
to a close in her new posscssioDS, and he himself in Spain, with 
poor prospect of organizing a successful rebellion, whereby to 
usurp their government — should have dealt in fair promises, in 
delusive hopes, which she took care to put fiir in the prospective ; 
no wonder, even, that she consented so far to sacrifice Eobadilla 
to the ])ride and malice of Columbus, as to promise his speedy 
removal, though even Fernando Columbus seems well to have 
divined what would have been the fate of that honest official, 
had he lived to reach Spain. Commenting upon the shipwreck 
and drowning of Eobadilla, Roldan, and others engaged in the 
so-called rebellion, he writes : 

" I am satisfied it was the hand of God ; for, had they arrived 
in Spain, they had never been punished as their crimes de- 
served, but rather have been favored and preferred." 

Such being the case, it was easy and politic to dally with 
Columbus ; and, while determined never to reinstate him in a 
power he had abused so shamefully, to make large promises. 
But, although Isabella refrained from punishing Columbus as his 
frauds and crimes deserved, and though she held out to him de- 
lusive hopes, which she never meant him to realize, it is evident 
that she did not altogether refrain from testifying to him her 
displeasure at his conduct. According to Charlevoix, she thus 
addressed him : 

" Common report accuses you of acting with a degree of 
severity quite unsuitable for an infant colony, and likely to excite 
rebellion there ; but the matter as to which I find it hardest to 
give you my pardon, is your conduct in reducing to slavery a 
number of Indians who had done nothing to deserve such a fate ; 
this was contrary to my express orders. As your ill-fortune 
willed it, just at the time when I heard of this breach of my in- 
structions, everybody was complaining of you, and no one spoke 
a word in your favor. And I felt obliged to send to the Indies 



COLCJMBUS EEPEOVED.— BOBADILLA EECALLED. 997 

a commissioner to investigate matters, and give me a true re- 
port ; and, if necessary, to put limits to the authority which you 
were accused of overstepping. If you were found guilty of the 
charges, he M'as to relieve you of the government, and to send 
you to Spain, to give an account of your stewardship. ... I 
cannot promise to reinstate you in your government ; people are 
too much inflamed against you, and must have time to cool. As 
to your rank of admiral, I never intended to deprive you of it. 
But you must bide your time, and trust in me." 

It was plain, therefore, that Columbus, though retaining his 
rank of admiral — which was somewhat of a sinecure, in which 
there might be some honor, but in which there was certainly 
little profit — was obliged to give up all present hope of returning 
in triumph to Hispaniola, and, vested with supreme power, there 
to wreak a terrible vengeance upon all who had opposed him. 

And, although it may be alleged that the above is but an 
imaginary speech, which proves nothing, there is substantial and 
convincing testimony that it is a fair resume of Isabella's policy 
toward Columbus. In a letter from the sovereigns to the latter, 
in answer to his solicitations for money, we read : 

" Respecting the ten thousand pieces of money which you 
speak of, it is determined not to grant them this voyage, until 
we are better informed." 

This letter is dated March 14, 1502. 

When Columbus was eventually allowed to depart on his 
fourth voyage, he was forbidden to touch at Hispaniola, save on 
his return, and then only in case of extreme necessity. 

The removal of Bobadilla was, however, to take place. Nico- 
las de Ovando, commander of Lares, was sent out to succeed 
him, in February, 1502, with the finest fleet which had as yet 
been sent to the new lands. 

Ovando is said to have been " a wise and judicious man." 
Most contemporaries speak highly of his character and abilities. 
Nevertheless, his rule in the islands was characterized by many 
atrocious acts of cruelty, which can be laid to no one's charge 
but his. It is evident, therefore, that, though perhaps competent 
to govern his own race, he was incapable of judiciously govern- 
ing the Indians. 

On his arrival in Hispaniola, he was received with great 
respect by Bobadilla, toward whom he conducted himself with 



298 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



marked deference, more than be would have been likely to ex- 
hibit had the latter been in very deep disgrace with the sov- 
ereigns. 

The short rule of Bobadilla had been attended with advan- 
tageous results to the crown, while the crushing tribute imposed 
by Columbus discouraged many from seeking gold. Immedi- 
ately upon Bobadilla's reducing the royal tax, upon all precious 
metal found, from one-third to one-eleventh, it appears that the 
amount realized by the sovereigns was increased fourfuld ; '" 
and, though some authors allege that this was owing to cruel 
exactions and oppressions on his part, there appears to be no 
truth in this assertion, as the official acts of Bobadilhi were with 
a view of alleviating and ameliorating the condition of both 
Spaniards and natives. Columbus's chief accusation against Bo- 
badilla was that he was too lenient ; that he " granted exemp- 
tion from tithes," and " befriended all save the crown." 

His success in amassing gold was due to his very leniency. 
Ovando pursued a totally different course ; but of him, save where 
he is brought in contact with Columbus, we shall say very little, 
this being essentially a history of the latter. 

13* Helps, " History of Culumbus," p. 209. 




An Alcatraz. 



CHAPTER XXIY. 

SOJOUKN OF COLUIMBUS IN" SPAIN PREVIOUS TO HIS FOURTH VOYAGE. 
HIS WILL. — ^NEGOTIATIONS ATTEMPTED WITH GENOA. 

For nearly two years Columbus remained in Spain. He had 
been liberated, indeed, from durance vile, by order of the sover- 
eigns, but tliey exhibited none of that haste to reinstate him in 
power which would have been a natural consequence of their be- 
lieving him guiltless. I^^or was their failure so to do owing to the 
silence and reserve of Columbus ; he was constantly importuning 
them, either in person or by letter, for a recognition of what he 
termed his rights ; with so little success, however, that he is at 
one time fain to give up, and, fearing that all hope of power and 
wealth to be acquired from his so-called discoveries was at an end, 
he bethought himself of again assuming the cloak of extreme 
religious enthusiasm, which he had lately allowed to fall some- 
what into disuse. He hoped thus to bring himself into the no- 
tice, perhaps obtain the support and assistance, of the Church 
— above all, of the papal chair. 

He therefore now remembered that, on starting for the isl- 
ands, in 1492, he had promised the sovereigns and the Church 
(made a solemn vow, in fact) that, at the expiration of seven 
years from that date, he would furnish fifty thousand foot-sol- 
diers, and five thousand horse, for the purpose of maldng war on 
the infidel, and reclaiming the Holy Sepulchre. The seven years 
had more than expired, the islands he professed to have discov- 
ered had increased the expenditure instead of the revenue of the 
crown, while he himself was as penniless and powerless as when, 
on his arrival at Palos, he was indebted to the Pinzons for the 
very clothing in which he presented himself at court. Feeling 
the wretched contrast between his promise and performance, he 



300 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

clings to tlie hope that aifected religions zeal "will reinstate him 
somewhat in the good graces of his bigoted qneen, and assure 
him the support of the Church. In this last he seems to have 
been successful. The priesthood have been the creators of his 
fame ; and now, hoping that time will have obliterated the mem- 
ory of his crimes, coolly propose to place him among the saints. 
He strongly urged that an expedition should be immediately set 
on foot to reclaim the Sepulchre ; he assured the sovereigns that 
he had been divinely chosen, from his very birth, to perform two 
great missions : the first, to carry Christianity across the seas to 
the heathen of the Western lands ; the second, to recover the 
Sepulchre of the Saviour. He writes upon this subject a letter 
in which hypocrisy, cant, and blasphemy, vie with each other for 
preeminence ; but this pious proposition only absorbs him while 
all hope of his being again allowed to voyage westward is seem- 
ingly at an end. Soon, however, the excitement which prevailed, 
owing to the riches which were flowing into Portugal from the 
East Indies, by the route discovered by Vasco de Gama, embold- 
ened our hero. He begged to be allowed to lay the wealth of 
those Indies at the feet of Spain, by giving her a safer and 
shorter passage to them than that enjoyed by Portugal. He 
boldly asserted, not hypothetically, but as an established cer- 
tainty, that there existed a strait between the lands he had 
discovered, which would permit ships to sail into the Eastern 
Ocean, and reach China, Japan, and India. He appears for the 
moment to have dropped the pi'etense of having already reached 
those lands, and, moreover, failed to demonstrate wherefore, if 
such a strait existed, and he was aware of its existence, he had 
not, ere this, made .the Spanish kingdom mistress of its advan- 
tages. This inconsistency is, however, one of the minor ones 
of which he is guilty. 

This strait he placed between the southern shore of Cuba, 
which he still professes to regard as main-land, and the north- 
ern shores of the South American Continent, which shows either 
his utter insincerity, or that he had done very little toward ex- 
ploring the latter. 

The cupidity of the sovereigns was excited, as the wily ad- 
miral believed it would be ; his departure, too, on a fourth voy- 
age, would rid them of an importunate suppliant. Orders were 
therefore given, in 1501, for an expedition to be fitted out. 



ISABELLLA AND COLUMBUS APPEECIATE EACH OTHER. 301 

tliougli we perceive tliat but little faith was placed in him, 
for, notwithstanding the glorious promises he made, and the 
eagerness with which Spain would be supposed to embrace an 
opportunity of diverting a valuable commerce from her hated 
rival Portugal, several months elapsed before a fleet of four 
small vessels, the largest of seventy, the smallest of fifty, tons 
burden, were placed at his command. Their united crew com- 
prised one hundred and fifty men. 

The meanness of this outfit plainly shows that it was the man 
Columbus, more than his enterprise, who was held in abhorrence, 
for a fine fleet of thirty-six sail and a brilliant retinue had been 
accorded to Ovando. 

Columbus, in obtaining this fleet, obtained what he professed 
solely to desire, namely, the means of discovering his strait and 
enriching Spain, especially the queen his mistress. But other 
thoughts are lurking in his brain ; his conduct shows plainly 
that he fully understood the character of Isabella and her rela- 
tions with him. Both of these crafty worthies, indeed, evidently 
imderstood each other — neither believed the statements nor re- 
spected the motives of the other. Isabella humored Columbus, 
to a certain extent, because she believed him capable of, and able 
to do her, some mischief, were his vindictiveness to be openly 
excited. Columbus, on the other hand, rightly judged that, 
though he was allowed to go unpunished, he had little to expect 
but promises from his " munificent patroness." 

Therefore we find him, while professing the humblest alle- 
giance to the queen, engaged, with his accustomed craft and dis- 
simulation, in a scheme by which he hoped to interest other 
powers in securing to him what the crown of Spain had prom- 
ised him in an unguarded moment, or from motives of policy, 
namely, the viceroyalty of the Western islands to him and his 
heirs forever, the tenth of the revenues arising therefrom, and 
the admiralty of the Western ocean. 

We must remember, before taxing Spain with ingratitude, 
that, even at the period of which we write, when Europe was 
but just commencing a struggle against feudal and sovereign des- 
potism, the people were more powerful, and the sovereign less 
so, in this kingdom than in any other. All have read of the 
fiimous oath of allegiance pronounced by the Cortes on the acces- 
sion of a sovereign, whereby they promised to support the new 



302 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

monarch, on condition that he preserve the rights and respect 
the privileges {fueros) of the nation and people, ending Avith the 
emphatic si 7io, no (if not, not), which conveyed both a warning 
and a threat. 

Such was the power already vested in the representatives of 
the people by the then potent Spanish nation. It was, there- 
fore, without the range of the sovereign prerogative to grant in 
perpetuity the offices of admiral and viceroy to representatives 
and heirs of a foreigner, without regard to their possible merits 
or demerits. Isabella, who had not mounted the throne as a 
legitimate sovereign, but as a usurper who bargained for her 
place by the restriction of her rights, might, with the consent of 
the Cortes, confer on Columbus the title above named for life, 
but there her power ended. 

This, as we have said, Columbus appears to have understood, 
and we therefore find him secretly engaged, or attempting to 
engage, in a correspondence with the powerful republic of 
Genoa, with a view to inducing the latter to aid him in ousting 
Spain from the Western islands, and in usui-ping their govern- 
ment for himself. His proceedings in this matter are carried on 
with such secrecy as to leave no doubt of their treasonable in- 
tent, nor does Mr. Irving venture to pass over this episode Mith- 
out mentioning that suspicions of this treason were prevalent 
in Spain. He admits that " the sovereigns Tumj have entertained 
doubts as to the innocence and loyalty of Columbus." He further 
reports that "there was a rumor prevalent that Columbus, irri- 
tated at the suppression of his dignities by the court of Spain, 
intended to transfer his newly-discovered countries into the 
hands of his native rejpublic^ Genoa, or some other power ; " and 
states that, during the time he passed in Spain previous to his 
fourth voyage, he took measures to " sectire his fame, and ^>r^- 
serve the claims of his family, by placing them under the guar- 
dianship of his native city," and by way of inducement, we sup- 
pose, to that city to undertake the guardianship, we shall find 
him writing a codicil, . May 4, 15uG, on the blank leaf of a 
breviary, " according to military usage," in which he declares 
the republic of Genoa his successor to the admiralty, should his 
male line become extinct ! 

The treason of such a bequest is so palpable as scarce to need 
comment. Columbus, the once pauper pirate, coolly makes over 



A MENDICANT BEQUEATHS MILLIONS. 303 

to a foreign power one of tlie offices of the Spanish crown ; yet 
not one of his biographers appears to perceive the monstrous 
absurdity of such a proposition ! 

He had not, however, waited till his disgrace was incontes- 
table, before commencing his treasonable practices. Previous to 
his third voyage, he had solicited and obtained permission from 
the crown to make his will, perpetuating his fortune and honors 
by entail {mayorazgo). This authorization, granted by the sov- 
ereigns, appears to restrict him to his "legitimate children," 
especially Diego, " notwithstanding your other children be ag- 
grieved." It would seem, at any rate, that bequests to Genoa 
were not within its scope. 

In virtue of this permit, he proceeded to make a will, by 
which he affects to dispose of millions of treasure, and of honors 
that should render him and his descendants famous throughout 
the land. If we cast a glance backward to the preparations for 
his third voyage, pending which this will was written, we shall 
perceive that Columbus was then, as always, poor ; that his dis- 
coveries (if we give them that name) had become impopular, 
himself odious — so unpopular, so odious, that none could be 
found voluntarily to follow him to his " earthly paradise." And 
in order to people it, and aid him in bearing Christianity to the 
benighted heathen, the dungeons were at his request thrown 
open, and the vilest criminals they contained might expiate their 
crimes by a short sojourn in those islands, whose civilization (?) 
they were to effect. The ships, crews, and cargoes, for his third 
expedition, were all impressed into the royal service. Thence- 
forth his condition became steadily more wretched and degraded, 
till we shall find him writing to Dona Juana de la Torres : 

" I have now reached that point that there is no man so vile 
but thinks it his right to insult me." 

And to the sovereigns : 

"I am, indeed, in as ruined a condition as I have related. 
Hitherto I have wept for others : may Heaven now have mercy 
upon me, and may the earth weep for me ! "With regard to tem- 
poral things, I have not even a Uanca for an offering. . . . All 
that was left to me, as well as to my brothers, has been taken away 
and sold, even to the frock I wore. ... I did not come on this 
voyage " (his last) " to gain for myself honor or wealth ; this is a 
certain fact, for at that time all ho2)e of such a thing was dead." 



304 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

The tone of his will was, however, very different from this 
crinfinii; whine. AVe can merely mahe extracts, as it is an ex- 
ceedingly lengthy docnment : like all his compositions, it con- 
tains many incongruities. Defining the order of inheritance in 
his family, he says : 

" If God should dispose of him " (his brother Bartholomew) 
" witJwut heirs, he is to be succeeded by his sons^ Great care 
is to be taken " where the glory of God, or wy own, or that of 
my family, is concerned. ... For the greater glory of the Al- 
mighty, and that it may be the root and basis of my lineage, and 
a memento of the services I have rendered their highnesscr., that, 
being born in Genoa, I came over to serve them in Castile. 
... I pray their highnesses that this, my privilege, be held 
valid. ... 

•r. 

:>(pof£Ktus 

" Don Diego, my son, or any other who may inherit my 
name, in coming into possession of the inheritance, shall sign 
with the signature I now make use of, which is an A", with an 
S. over it, and an J/, with a Roman A over it, and over that an 
/S., and then a Greek T, with an S. over it, with its lines and 
points, as is my custom, as may be seen by my signature, of 
which there are many, and it will be seen by the present one." "* 

The authenticity of this will, or certain parts of it, has been 

■3* This clccicledly eccentric, if not affcctdl, sifrnatiivc Ims been variously inter- 
preted, tlie author having voucl\safcd no explanation. Some suppose the ciphers 
above the signature (which all admit to be Christ-hearer, in Greek and Latin charac- 
ters) to read " Scrviflor Sux A/tezan Sncras, Cri.t'o, Maria, YsabrV (or possibly Joseph) 
' Servant of their Sacred Highnesses, Christ, Mary, Isabel." M. Delorgucs interprets 
them " Serviis Supplex Al/issimi Salvaionn, Chrishix, Maria, Joseph, the Suppliant Ser- 
vant of the Most High Saviour, Christ, Mary, Joseph." Spotorno supposes the ciphers 
should be read from the bottom, upward, connecting the lower with the upper, and 
reading thus : " Safva me, Chrislus, Maria, Jcsephns."' The matter is not of any material 
importance; it only serves to show how religious affectation and a desire to mystify 
pervaded the most trivial acts of the self-stvlcd Chiist-bearcr. 



"THE ADMIRAL."— NEGEO COUNT. 305 

matter of mucli doubt ; the above is one of the alleged for- 
geries. It is maintained that few men would enter thus elabo- 
rately into the description of a signature which they declare 
must be already well known. There seems to be some reason in 
this objection, yet, as there is no accounting for the vagaries and 
vanities of Columbus, the passage may, after all, be genuine. 

" He " (the heir) " shall only write ' the Admiral,' whatever 
other titles the king may have conferred on him. This is under- 
stood as respects his signature, but not the enumeration of his 
titles, which he can make at full length, if agreeable ; only the 
signature is to be ' the Admiral.' " 

" Such," says Mr. Irving, " was the noble pride with which 
he valued this title of his real greatness." The same author 
writes : " His soul was elevated by the contemplation of his 
great and glorious office, when he considered himself under di- 
vine inspiration, imparting the will of Heaven, and fulfilling the 
high and holy purpose for which he had been predestined." 

It is strange that, with this noble stimulus, Columbus should 
have fallen miserably short of what might be reasonably ex- 
pected from an uninspired mortal. If he had been truly great, 
he would not have been so intoxicated by a few paltry titles. 
" He called me Don ! " he exclaims with ecstatic delight ; yet 
titles were cheap in Spain. A negro named Juan de Yalladolid, 
called the negro count {conde negro\ was, in 1474, appointed by 
Ferdinand and Isabella to the office of mayoral of the negroes. 
The appointment is made in the most flattering terms.'" 

" I also," continues Columbus in his will, " enjoin Don Die- 
go, or any one that may inherit the estate, to have and maintain, 
in the city of Genoa, one person of our lineage to reside there 

137 " Pqj. t]jg many good, loyal, and signal services which you have done us, and do 
each day, and because we know your sufficiency, ability, and good disposition, we con- 
stitute you mayoral and judge of all the negroes and mulattoes, free or slaves, which 
are in the very loyal and noble city of Seville and throughout the whole arch!>ishopric 
thereof, and that the said negroes and mulattoes may not hold any festivals, nor 
pleadings among themselves, except before you, Juan de Valladolid, negro, our judge 
and mayoral • of the said negroes and mulattoes ; and we command that you, and 
you only, should take cognizance of the disputes, pleadings, marriages, and other 
things which may take place among them, forasmuch as you are a person sufficient 
for that office, and deserving of your power, and you know the laws and ordinances 
which ought to be kept, and we are informed that you are of noble lineage among 
the said negroes." — Ortez de ZuSiga, " Annales Ecclesiasticos y Seculares de Sevilla," 
p. 374. 



306 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

with his wife, and appoint liim a sufficient revenue to enaUe 
him to live decently, as a person closely connected with the 
family, of which he is to be the root and basis in that city, from 
which great good may accrue to him, inasmuch as I was horn 
there and came from thence^ 

It is not surprising that those claiming other birthplaces for 
Columbus than Genoa, should regard the sentence we italicize as 
a forged interpolation : 1. He declares that the person to be 
supported in Genoa was to fonn the root and hasis of his fomih- 
there. This could scarcely be, were Columbus and his progeni- 
tors natives of the place. 2. It is somewhat strange, if Colum- 
bus in this will several times declared that he was a native of 
Genoa, that his son should not state the fact when treating of his 
birth and early years. He came into possession of his father's 
papers, and, had he found therein any such declaration of birth- 
place, it seems likely he would have inserted it in its proper 
place in his history of his father. 

It is not improbable that these passages have been forged by 
the champions of Columbus to palliate, in a measure, the trea- 
son to Spain which is so apparent in his bequests and proposi- 
tions to Genoa ; but neither is it improbable that Columbus 
claimed to have been born there, in order that that city might 
consider he had some claim upon her, and be induced to aid him 
in his schemes for gaining possession of the islands with which 
he promised to enrich her. 

Be this as it may, and whether the passages be forgeries, or 
whether Columbus really in his will professed to have been born 
in Genoa, it is certain that his most intimate friends, his family 
even, were kept ignorant of his having made such an assertion, 
and that he desired Spain to be utterly ignorant of all his trans- 
actions M'ith Genoa. 

" The said Diego," continues the will, " or whoever shall in- 
herit the estate, must remit in bills, or in any other way, what- 
ever he may be enabled to save out of the revenue of the estate, 
and direct purchase to be made in his name, or that of his heirs, 
in a stock in the Bank of St. George, which gives an interest of 
six per cent., and is secure money ; and this shall be devoted to 
the purposes I am about to explain : 

" Item : As it becomes every man of rank and property to 
serve God, either personally, or by means of his wealth, and as 



COLUMBUS WILL SERVE GOD WITH MONEY. 307 

all moneys deposited with St. George are quite safe, and Genoa 
is a noble city, and powerful by sea, and as, at tlie time that I 
undertook to set out upon the discovery of the Indies, it was 
with the intention of supplicating the king and queen our lords 
that whatever money should be derived from the said Indies 
should be invested in the conquest of Jerusalem, and as I did so 
supplicate them, if they do this it will be well ; if not, at all 
events, the said Diego, or such person as may succeed him in 
this trust, to collect together all the money he can, and accom- 
pany the king our lord, should he go to the conquest of Jerusa- 
lem, or else go there himself, with all the force he can command ; 
and, in pursuing this intention, it will please the Lord to assist 
toward the accomplishment of the plan ; and, should he not be 
able to effect the conquest of the whole, no doubt he will achieve 
it in part. Let him, therefore, collect and make a fund of all his 
wealth in St. George of Genoa, and let it multiply there till such 
time as it may appear to him that something of consequence 
may be effected as respects the project on Jerusalem, for I be- 
lieve that, when their highnesses shall see that this is contem- 
plated, they will wish to realize it themselves, or will afford him, 
as their servant and vassal, the means of doing it for them. 

"Item: I charge my son Diego, and my descendants, espe- 
cially whoever may inherit this estate, which consists, as afore- 
said, of the tenth of whatsoever may be had or found in the 
Indies, and the eighth part of the lands and rents, all which, 
together with my rights and emoluments as admiral, viceroy, 
and governor, amount to more than twenty-five per cent., I say 
that I require of him to employ all this revenue, as well as his 
person and all the means in his power, in well and foithfully 
serving and supporting their highnesses, or their successors, even 
to the loss of life and property." 

The extreme loyalty of this last injunction is entirely nulli- 
fied and contradicted by the preceding one, in which the heir is 
directed to employ all the revenue he can save out of the estate 
in the purchase of stock in the Bank of St. George of Genoa, 
and by the following, in which he commands — 

" . . . . the said Diego, or whoever may possess the said 
estate, to labor and strive for the honor, welfare, and aggrandize- 
ment of the city of Genoa, and to make use of all his power and 
means in defending and enhancing the good and credit of that re- 



308 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

public, in all things not contrary to the service of God, or the 
high dignity of the king and queen our lords and their successors." 

The unhicky recipient of so many injunctions M'ould have 
been j^uzzled to obey them all. He is enjoined to serve God 
and mammon — Spain and Genoa — to give to each of these poxv- 
ers all his energies, resources, and devotion, but it was in the 
nature of the author of this will to promise fidelity to all, Mhile 
he would practise it toward none. 

Besides the above public bequests, we find each of Colum- 
bus's family provided with a million or so. A church is to be 
built at Ilispaniola, a theological seminary endowed, monuments 
erected, etc., etc. This ostentatious disposal of imtold riches is 
plentifully interlarded with pious injunctions for the advance- 
ment of the interests of the Church, and of the Spanish sover- 
eigns, but Genoa and the Bank of St. George figure principally. 

This will was written, as we have said, previous to his de- 
parture on his third voyage, about the year 1497. In the year 
1502, the period of his history at which Ave have now arrived, he 
made another will. This, however, was suppressed, for reasons 
to which Spotorno thus alludes : 

" The motives of this we know not, but it would not be very 
rash to suppose that Columbus had poured out in it the bitter- 
ness of his heart against the court." 

In other words, that, seeing he possessed nothing, present or 
prospective, he denounced his sovereign for not making him 
rich and honorable, in spite of his crimes. 

Besides these wills he wn-ote two codicils. In the last of 
these he alludes to the testament of 1502, thereby working the 
invalidity of the document from which we have so largely quoted, 
and which was so full of promise to Genoa. 

Having perused this and the codicil M'hich creates Genoa 
admiral in Spain, Ave can entertain little doubt that the suspi- 
cion Avitli which their author Avas regarded in the latter country 
was Avell founded. But there is still further evidence against 
him. He had himself assured the sovereigns that he kncAV it 
would be impossible for him to maintain himself in poAver in the 
Indies, even Avere he desirous of usurjiing it, Avithout the aid of 
some prince. Spain manifestly forsaking him, he hoped to 
find in Genoa the protecting poAver Avhich should render his 
desii>:u feasible. 



ATTEMPTED NEGOTIATIONS WITH GENOA. 309 

He appears to have become acquainted, during liis sojourn 
near the court, with Nicolas de Oderigo, ambassador from Genoa 
to that court. He may have induced Oderigo to believe that it 
was really in his power to enrich the republic, and that he (its 
ambassador) would receive honor and advancement for being the 
one to propose to his country the means of increasing her power 
and wealth. 

This hypothesis is supported by letters written by Columbus 
to the Genoese ambassador. The first of these reads : 

" To the Ainbassddor, Signoe Nicolo Odekigo. 

" Sm : It is impossible to describe the solitude which your 
departure has caused among us. I gave the book of my privi- 
leges to Signer Francisco di Eivarola, in order that he might for- 
ward it to you, along with a copy of the missive letters. I beg 
of you, as a particular f\ivor, to write to Don Diego to acknowl- 
edge their receipt, and to mention where they are deposited. 
Another copy will be finished and sent to you in the same man- 
ner, and by the same Signer Francisco. You will find another 
letter in it, in which their highnesses promise to give me all that 
belongs to me, and to put Don Diego in possession of it. I am 
writing to Signer Gian Luigi, and to the Signora Caterina, and 
the letter will accompany this. 

" I shall depart, in the name of the Holy Trinity, with the 
first favorable weather, with a considerable equipment. If Giro- 
la mo da Santa Stefano comes, he must wait for me, and not en- 
tangle himself with any one, for they will get from him whatever 
they can, and then leave him in the lurch. Let him come here, 
and he will be received by the king and queen until I arrive. 
May our Lord have you in his liely keeping ! 



•r- 

•5- A .jr. 

>p off REN J 

'■'•March 21, 1502, in Seville, at your commands." 



310 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

This letter, as we have seen, asserts that he sends to Genoa 
copies of all the grants which had been made him by the Span- 
ish sovereigns. "NVTiat was his object in sending these docu- 
ments to a foreign land ? It will be argued that it was to insure 
their preservation. This reason falls to the ground. We find 
every one of the said privileges, and documents relating thereto, 
preserved in the archives of Spain, wliere Columbus well knew 
they would be deposited in perfect security. 

His real object was to dazzle Genoa with a representation of 
the immense advantage likely to accnic to her from an alliance 
with him. Genoa, however, was too wary to fall into the trap, 
however temptingly baited. She may have known how false Co- 
lumbus had been to every one of his promises ; how much disap- 
pointment and how little profit he had entailed upon Spain. 
She may have even been aware that the considerable equipment 
with which he informs Oderigo he was about to sail, consisted 
of four small vessels. At any rate, this powerful republic did 
not intend, by taking up the cudgels for this pauper pirate in 
disgrace, to draw upon herself the open enmity of Spain. Co- 
lumbus's propositions, enticing though he endeavored to make 
them, seem to have fallen upon deaf ears ; for, on his return from 
his fourth voyage, we find him writing as follows : 

" To the Most Learned Doctor^ IN'icolo Oderigo. 

" Le^uined Sir : AVhen I set off upon the voyage from which 
I have just returned, I spoke to you fully. I have no doubt you 
retained a complete recollection of every thing. I expected, upon 
my arrival, to have four.d here letters, and possibly a confiden- 
tial person from you. At that time, I likewise gave to Francisco 
de Eivarola a book of copies of my letters, and another of my 
privileges, in a bag of colored Spanish leather with a silver lock, 
and two letters for the I3ank of St. George, to which I assign 
the tenth of my revenues in diminution of the duties upon corn 
and other provisions. Is'o acknoAvledgment of all this has 
reached me. Signor Francisco tells me that all arrived there in 
safety. If so, it was uncourteous in these gentlemen of St. 
George not to have favored me with an answer. Nor have they 
thereby improved their affairs, which gives one cause to say that 
whoever serves the public, serves nobody. I gave another book 
of my privileges, like the above, in Cadiz, to Franco Cataneo, the 



ATTEMPTED NEGOTIATIONS WITH GENOA. 311 

bearer of this, in order that lie might likewise forward it 
to you, and that both of them might be securely deposited 
wherever you thought proper. Just before my departure, I re- 
ceived a letter from the king and queen, my lords, a copy of 
which you will find there. You will see that it came very op- 
portunely. Nevertheless, Don Diego was not put in possession, 
as had been promised. While I was in the Indies, I wrote to their 
highnesses an account of my voyage by three or four opportuni- 
ties. One of my letters having come back to my hands, I send 
it to you inclosed in this, with the supplement of my voyage in 
another letter, in order that you may give it to Signor Gian Luigi 
with the other advice, to whom I write that you will be the 
reader and interpreter of it. I would wish to have ostensible 
letters, speaking cautiously of the matter in which we are en- 
gaged. I arrived here very unwell, just before the queen, my 
mistress, died (who is now with God), without my seeing her. 
Till now, I cannot say how my affairs will finish. I believe her 
highness has provided well for them in her last will, and the 
king, my master, is very well disposed. Franco Cataneo will 
explain the rest more minutely to you. 

" May our Lord preserve you in his care ! 

•r- 

•S- A 'JT- 

" Admiral of the Ocean, Viceroy and 

" Governor-General of the Indies, etc. 

" Seville, Decemler 27, 1504." 

It w^ould be difficult to account for the extreme caution and 

secrecy here enjoined, if nothing treasonable were contemplated. 

Genoa well understood the matter; she knew that Columbus 

was unable to maintain himself, much less diminish duties on 

corn, etc. That he foresaw the light in which his proceedings 

would be regarded is evident from his desire to have it appear 

that his devotion to Genoa, and not his diso-race in Spain, 
21 



312 LIFE OF COLUMBUS, 

caused liis defection from the latter. He therefore writes that 
Isabella has remembered him in her will, and that Ferdinand is 
very well disj^osed toward him. It were needless to comment 
upon the inveracity of both these statements. This defection, 
which culminates in his proposals to Genoa, had evidently been 
contemplated from the commencement of his relations with 
Spain. Good Las Casas, who, throughout his work on the cruel- 
ties of the Spaniards in the Indies, prudently abstains from 
mentioning names, writes : 

" The Spaniards first set sail to America, not for the honor 
of God, or as persons moved or incited thereunto by fervent 
zeal for the true faith, nor to promote the salvation of their 
neighbors, nor to serve the hing, as they fjilsely boast and pre- 
tend to do, but, in truth, only stimulated and goaded on by 
insatiable avarice and ambition, that they might forever domi- 
neer, command, and tyrannize over the West Indians, whose 
kingdoms they hoped to divide and distribute among them- 
selves ; which, to deal candidly, is no more nor less than inten- 
tionally, by all these indirect ways, to disappoint and expel the 
Kings of Castile out of these dominions and territories, that they 
themselves, having usurped the supreme and regal empire, might 
first challenge it as their right, and then possess and enjoy it." 

This usurpation Columbus first tried to accomplish himself, 
with the aid of his brothers. Finding this impossible, he seeks to 
make Genoa his ally, with what ultimate success we have shown. 

But to return to his preparations for his fourth voyage. In 
February, 1502, he wrote a letter to the Pope Alexander YII., 
in which he apologized for not having repaired to Home as he 
had intended, to give the Holy Father an account of his voyages. 
He dwells upon his pious intentions toward the Holy Sepulchre, 
and asserts that he has been prevented from raising his i">rom- 
ised army, by the arts of the devil. He is, however, about to 
start on a fourth voyage, and on his return he will at once visit 
his holiness, and then present him with a copy of his accounts 
of his voyages, which is to be in the style of " Caesar's Commen- 
taries," and much more to the same purpose."* It is somewhat 
unjust for him to attribute the non-realization of his ]u-omises 
to the wiles of the devil, as he, and he alone, by his thlsehood 
and crimes, had caused his enterprise to be despised, which, had 

138 I^avarrcte, " Colecc. Dip.," vol. ii., p. 311. 



COLUMBUS, THE POPE, GENOA. 313 

it been appreciated to its full extent, the riches emanating there- 
from would have been insufficient to accomplish one tithe of 
what he had promised. 

The modesty with which he informs his holiness that his 
narrative is written in the style of " Csesar's Commentaries," is 
matter for admiration. The "unlettered admiral" would be 
considered as excelling even in the world of letters. It is to be 
regretted that his son Fernando, into whose hands this narrative 
no doubt eventually fell, with the rest of his father's papers (if, 
indeed, such a narrative ever existed), should have regarded its 
destruction as more advantageous to the glory of its author than 
its preservation. 

It is not difficult to divine the purpose for which the above 
letter, full of pious professions and promises, was written. Co- 
lumbus, by it, endeavored to predispose the Church, especially 
the papal chair, in his favor ; such support would be very neces- 
sary should matters with Genoa shape to his liking. 

Such were the crafty manoeuvres by which he sought to 
secure the assistance of Genoa, and the sanction of the Church, 
for his projected rebellion against, or defection from, Spain ; yet 
he did not allow them to interfere with his petitions to Isabella, 
whom he had not ceased to importune for reinstatement in 
power. She, while refusing his request, was nevertheless wea- 
ried with its repetition, together with that of his other numerous 
demands. Her letter to him, dated March 4, 1502, betrays some- 
thing of this feeling. After refusing him money, she says : 

" As to the other contents of your memorials and letters, 
respecting yourself and your sons and brothers, as you know 
that we are on the eve of a journey, and you on your departure, 
it cannot be attended to until we are permanently settled in 
some place, which if jovl were desirous to wait for, you would 
miss the voyage you are now going to undertake ; wherefore it 
is better that, being provided with every thing necessary for 
your voyage, you should depart immediately, leaving to your 
son the care of soliciting whatever is contained in the aforesaid 
memorial." 

That he "depart immediately " from Spain, and grant her 
weary ears a respite from the petitions which, while she does not 
peremptorily refuse, she nevertheless cannot and will not grant, 
this seems to have been the only present desire of the queen. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

FOURTH VOYAGE OF COLUiLBUS. 

Having, as lie hoped, left his aftairs in as promising condi- 
tion as liis disgrace at the Spanish court would allow, and 
secured Genoa and the Church as allies, Columbus at length 
set sail on the 9th of May, 15<)2, on his fourth and last voyage, 
with the considerable equipment already mentioned. He was 
accompanied by his natural son and subsequent historian Fer- 
nando, and by his brother Bartholomew. He sailed from Cadiz, 
by way of Morocco and the Canaries. At this stage of his his- 
tory there occurs once more one of the many little inconsisten- 
cies to which we have already alluded as characterizing too 
many biographers of Columbus. According to the latter, the 
whole voyage from Cadiz to the Carib Islands only occupied 
twenty days — four days from Spain to the Canaries, and sixteen 
from the Canaries to the Western islands. 

He writes to the sovereigns : 

"My passage from Cadiz to the Canaries occupied four days, 
and thence to the Indies, from which I wrote, sixteen days. My 
intention was to expedite my voyage as much as possible while I 
had good vessels, good crews and stores. . . . Up to the period 
of my reaching these shores I experienced most excellent weather.^'' 

Mr. Irving and others, however, would have it that it took 
him sixteen days (from the 9th of May to the 25th) to reach the 
Canaries, and twenty days (from the 25th of May to the 15th of 
June) to reach the Carib Islands, a total which more than 
doubles the time stated by Columbus himself. The reason for 
this we shall soon perceive. On renching the islands, Columbus, 
after touching at one or two, made direct for San Domingo, 
and requested ])ermission to enter the harbor. 



COLUMBUS EEFUSED ADMITTANCE TO THE HARBOR. 315 

We liave already stated tliat the sovereigns had expressly 
forbidden him to touch at Hispaniola on his outward voyage, 
and only permitted him to do so on his return in. case of neces- 
sity, and then merely for a short stay."' His excuse for now 
violating the royal command was, that one of his vessels sailed 
badly, could carry no canvas, thereby delaying the squadron. 
He therefore proposed to exchange it for one which Ovando 
had brought out. 

The boldness of this pretext he has himself made evident in 
the passage we have quoted from his letter, and is manifest to 
his biographers, for, by admitting that he performed the whole 
voyage in twenty days (a remarkably quick trip), he shows that 
his squadron could not have been much delayed. Apparently 
for this reason, and to cover another of his falsehoods, and make 
his excuse appear more plausible, historians double the length of 
time consumed in his voyage. 

Ovando, who had, no doubt, received his orders, refused to 
admit Columbus into the harbor of San Domingo, stating, as 
his reason for doing so, that it was against the desire of their 
highnesses. Kor could he consent to the proposed exchange of 
vessels ; the fleet he had brought out was that day setting sail, 
laden with a richer cargo than had ever before left the Western 
islands, and bearing Bobadilla, Iioldan, and many others, back 
to Spain. Admitting that Columbus really had a bad-sailing 
vessel, he could scarcely be expected to exchange one of the 
outgoing ships for this bad sailer, and thereby retard the prog- 
ress of a fleet which was far more important than that of 
Columbus. 

The sympathy and pathos expressed by Columbus's historians 
as they record the refusal he received at San Domingo, would be 
very touching if well founded. But even regarding Columbus, 
as they do, in the light of a noble and glorious martyr, few will 
be prepared to state that his landing in Hispaniola would have 
been judicious or safe. The island was swarming with his ene- 
mies, who might have taken it into their heads to execute upon 
him justice as summary as that which he had inflicted upon 
Moxica and scores of others ; therefore his best friends would 
have advised him to stay away. 

The refusal to exchange ships was, as we have already said, 

'39 Navarrete "Colecc. Dip.," vol. i., p. 425. 



316 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

an imperative duty. Ovando could not stay his fleet or endan- 
ger any of its cargo. It set sail the day of Columbus's arrival. 
The weather was at the time fair and still, but a sudden and violent 
storm arose, by which the greater part of the fleet was destroyed. 
Bobadilla, Roldan, and a host of others, perished ; among them 
a captive Indian chief. 

A story is to be found in most histories of Columbus, which 
represents him as foretelling this storm, and magnanimously 
urging Ovando to delay the departure of his vessels, but without 
being heeded. Tracing this assertion from one narrator to an- 
other, it appears that Fernando is its fountain-head, and the only 
authority for the prophecy. Columbus, in his relation of his fourth 
voyage, speaks of the storm, but makes no allusion to his having 
in any way predicted it ; and he most assuredly Avould not have 
failed to hold forth this further proof of the divine aid and 
inspiration which he so constantly professed to receive, had 
there been the least possible ground for his doing so. The 
prophecy is, therefore, probably a gratuitous embellishment of 
Fernando's, who is peculiarly desirous that his readers should, 
at this period, perceive supreme intervention in his father's 
favor. 

Thus we have seen that he regards the deaths of Bobadilla 
and Roldan as special acts of the Deity, who is thus made to 
take upon himself the punishment of the admiral's enemies ; and 
by the same special providence, we are assured, the only ship 
of the great fleet which reached Spain in safety, was the poorest 
and w^eakest of all, but it had' on board four thousand pieces of 
gold belonging to Columbus. The latter also safely weathered 
the storm which had been fatal to his enemies. Upon these 
miracles, as he terms them, M, de Lorgues builds a considerable 
portion of his claims for Columbus's canonization. Those who 
in their journey through life have observed the inscrutable ways 
of Divine Providence, and noted how often the wicked are al- 
lowed to prosper in worldly matters, Mhile the good are as often 
bufteted by misfortune, will not perceive in the death of the 
unfortuate Spaniards, nor in the salvation of Columbus and his 
ill-gotten gains, any manifestation of the sanctity of the latter, 
or the baseness of the former. 

His three vessels, separated by the storm, having rejoined 
him, and finding it impossible to obtain admittance to San 






CANOE CAPTUEED BY COLUMBUS. 31^ 

Domingo, Columbus, after a short sojourn in a sheltered part 
of the coast, set sail for Jamaica on the 1-ith of July, 1502. 
His crew felt bitterly their having been sent out under a man 
whose status was such that they were refused admittance into a 
port belonging to their own country, and to which even a foreign 
vessel would have been hospitably welcomed. 

The stormy weather continued. During sixty days, only sev- 
enty leagues were made, owing to adverse winds and currents. 
At last the little island of Guanaja was reached. Columbus 
named it Isla de Pinos (Island of Pines), on account of the abun- 
dance of those trees. 

A large canoe was seen approaching this island, laden with 
various products. It is described as being eight feet wide, very 
long. Part of it was covered with a rounded thatching of palm- 
leaves, after the manner of Venetian gondolas. It was most 
probably one of those partially-covered canoes which still navi- 
gate some of the inland rivers of South America, and are called 
cham])anes. The people it contained are described as far supe- 
rior to any yet met with ; the women wore long draperies of 
woven cotton ; broad cinctures of the same material encircled the 
men about the loins. Their wares, too, indicated an approach to 
civilization. Woven cloth of cotton, earthen -ware utensils, al- 
monds, cocoa (which the Spaniards then saw for the first time, 
and which has since furnished Spain with its national beverage), 
copper axes, crucibles in which this metal was melted — these 
constituted their chief cargo. 

The accounts of Columbus's treatment of these natives are 
conflicting. Mr. Irving and most modern historians relate that 
the people exhibited no fear, and came willingly alongside the 
vessels, where they gladly exchanged their wares for hawk's 
bells and other baubles ; that Columbus treated them with gen- 
tleness, and detained only one old man as a guide. 

Fernando, who was on the spot, and who, great as is his de- 
sire to conceal his father's misdeeds, sometimes accidentally gives 
us an insight into the truth, makes it appear that Columbus did 
not deal so gently with these people as Irving and others would 
have it supposed. He says : " At that time they seemed to be, in 
a manner, beside themselves, being brought prisoners out of their 
canoe aboard the ship, among such strange and fierce people as 



!18 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



we are to tliem." "" These people are supposed to have come 
from Yucatan to trade among the ishmds. Had Columbus 
sailed in the direction whence they came, he would probably 
have reached the rich countries of Mexico, and thus have gained 
fur Spain some material profit; but he was bent (or feigned to 
be so) upon finding his strait or passage to India, and proceeded 
in an opposite direction. 

A southerly course brought him to the shores of the conti- 
nent, -which he coasted in an easterly direction. The storm, 
we read, still remained unabated ; rain, wind, and current, com- 




Mass celebrated on tue Continent. 



bined to baffle and perturb the now bedridden admiral. On the 
14th of August, he, being unable to stir, ordered his brother 

"** " Ilistoria del Amirante," chapter xci. The same authority also makes it evi- 
dent that they were somewhat violently induced to come on board the Spanish sliips 
for, speakinfjj of their superior modesty over the other tribes, be says : " It falling out 
tliat, on getting them aboard, some were taken by the clouts they had before their 
privities, they would immediately clap their hands to cover them ; and the women 
would hide their faces, and wrap themselves up, as we said the Moorish women do at 
Granada." In fact, it is evident that the crew of the canoe were roughly seized, with 
their wares, Columbus keeping what part of these he saw fit, and giving in return a 
few worthless baubles. "And the admiral blessed God that it had pleased Him at 
once to give him samples of the commodities of that country, without exposing his 
men to any danger." 



CANNIBALS.— LENGTHY STOEM. 319 

Bartholomew to go on shore and have mass celebrated by the 
Franciscan friar who accompanied the expedition. This was done. 

On the 17th of the same month land was again sighted, and 
possession taken for Spain by the erection of a huge cross. 
Here a great number of natives were assembled, who offered the 
Spaniards cassava-bread, fowls, and vegetables, which they had 
with them in great abundance. Notwithstanding these evi- 
dences to the contrary, Columbus, having, no doubt, the ulti- 
mate enslavement of the poor wretches in view, declared them 
cannibals. " This was evident," he says, " from the brutality of 
their countenances." Anthropophagi would, we fear, be numer- 
ous even in civilized communities, were the above ear-marks in- 
fallible evidence of cannibalistic propensities. 

One portion of the coast was named Costa de la Oreja, from 
the hideous manner in which the inhabitants of that country 
bored their ears. 

Still opposed by wind and tide, Columbus now coasted Hon- 
duras. It is to be remarked that this continuous storm, severe as 
it no doubt was, is described by Columbus with much of that 
colored exaggeration which characterizes all his writings, after 
the manner of some story-tellers who never think the truth 
alone wonderful enough. He writes : " Eighty-eight days did 
this fearful tempest continue, during which I was at sea, and 
saw neither sun nor stars ; my ships lay exposed, my sails torn, 
and anchors, rigging, cables, boats, and a great quantity of pro- 
visions, lost. My people were very weak and humble in spirit, 
many of them promising to lead a religious life, and all making 
vows and promising to perform pilgrimages, while some of them 
would frequently go to their messmates to make confession. 
Other tempests have been experienced, but never of so long 
duration, or so fearful as this." 

At length, however, the vessels reached a prominent head- 
land, whence the coast stretched south. The current, which 
had impeded their progress, divided upon this point and ran 
southward, assisting instead of opposing them. Columbus, there- 
fore, named this Cape Gracias a Dios (Thanks to God), a name 
it still retains, though few of the places he baptized are now 
known by the appellations he gave them. 

Thence he proceeded along the Mosquito coast. Arriving at 
a large river, the men put oft" to fill their casks with fresh water, 



320 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

when a wave overwhelmed one boat, which was lost with all its 
crew. The river was therefore named liio del Desastro (of the 
Disaster), 

The village of Cariari was the next point of any importance 
reached. Here the natives assumed the defensive upon the ap- 
proach of the Spaniards, but, not being attacked, and tlie latter 
having made pacific demonstrations, they gained confidence. 

An aged man appeared with two young girls. These, he 
intimated, were to be hostages for the Spaniards who might 
wish to land. The latter profited by this generous assurance, 
and. went on shore to procure water. 

We have various and conflicting accounts touching the char- 
acter and conduct of these girls. Fernando and his father espe- 
cially disagree in their description of them. The former writes : 

" Those people showed more friendly than others had done, 
and in the girls appeared an undauntedness ; for, though the 
Christians were such strangers to them, they expressed no manner 
of concern, but always lool'cd lyleamnt and modest, which made 
the admiral treat them well, clothed, fed, and set them ashore 
again, where the fifty men were ; and the old man that had deliv- 
ered them received them again with much satisfaction." '" 

Columbus, however, thus describes the same scene : 

" When I arrived, they sent me immediately two girls very 
showily dressed ; the eldest could not be more than eleven years 
of age, and the other seven, and both exhibited so much immod- 
esty that more could not be expected from public women. They 
carried concealed about them a magic powder. When they 
came, I gave them some articles to deck themselves out with, 
and directly sent them back to the shore." '" 

When Fernando wrote his statement, he was no doubt isrno- 
rant of his fother's version, and, not considering that "the ad- 
miral's" character or veracity could be impugned by the truth, 
he made a correct statement. 

It is matter for congratulation that several documents writ- 
ten by Columbus were never perused by Fernando; we are thus 
enabled to bring many falsehoods of each to light. 

Friendly as were the people of Cariari, they, like all the tribes 
visited by Columbus, had more reason to mourn than rejoice at 

'*' " riistoria del Ainirantc," chapter xci. 

"' Letter of Columbus to the sovereigns, July 7, 1503. 



CRUELTY OF COLUMBUS. 321 

the visitation. Seven of them were seized and two retained, 
while the rest were allowed to return to their people ; but the 
friends of the two prisoners took their capture greatly to heart. 
Heavily laden with products of their land (among other things, 
two small hogs), they offer all, and more, if the Spaniards will 
only restore their friends to liberty ; but Columbus was inexo- 
rable ; he wanted guides (did this scientific navigator and discov- 
erer), having set down the poor old Indian of Guanaja at 
Cape Gracias a Dios. Thus he from time to time seized a hap- 
less native, used him as guide till his knowledge of the country 
was exhausted, then set him down in a strange land, whence 
there was little probability of his reaching his far-away home. 
But the magnanimous, gentle, humane admiral, while refusing 
to deliver the Cariarians to their kinsmen, accepted the pres- 
ents, notably the hogs, one of which afterward procured him 
sport cruel enough to gratify even his brutal tastes. Let us ob- 
serve the gusto with which he recounts the torture inflicted upon 
two dumb brutes, merely for amusement, and we shall be as- 
sured, if any doubt lingers in our minds, that cruelty was with 
him a passion. 

"I had, at that time," he writes, "two pigs and an Irish dog, 
who was always in great dread of them. An archer had 
w^ounded an animal like an ape, except that it was larger, and 
had a face like a man's ; the arrow had pierced it from the neck 
to the tail, which made it so fierce that they were obliged to dis- 
able it by cutting oft' one of its arms and a leg. One of the pigs 
grew wild on seeing this, and fled ; upon which / ordered the 
hegare (as the inhabitants call him) to he thrown to thexng^ and 
though the animal was nearly dead, and the arrow had passed 
Cjuite through his body, yet he threw his tail round the snout of 
the pig, and then, holding him firmly, seized him by the nape of 
the neck with his remaining hand, as if he were engaged Math an 
enemy. This action was so novel and extraordinary that I have 
thought it worth while to describe it here." 

The cowardly superstition, which was one of the manly attri- 
butes of our hero, is also manifested during his stay at (Jariari. 
A smoke which the natives created, and which the wind blew 
toward him, was, he declared, a necromantic spell they sought to 
cast upon him. It was probably the smoking of tobacco through 
pipes as he had already seen it smoked in the leaf. 



322 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



Details of tliis voyage are not wanting, as both Columbus 
and Fernando are very minute in their recitals. We shall nut, 
however^ be equally so, and follow him through all the mishaps 
and disasters of this his last expedition, but content ourselves 
with noting its more imj)ortant features. 

From time to time he procured gold from the natives, who 
were, as a rule, friendly. Here, he traded for large plates of gold 
which were worn suspended from the neck ; there, he would in- 
crease the respect of the harmless natives by discharging a can- 
non among them.'" Now, he comes upon five large settlements 




Indians bmoking.— (From Philopono, "Nova Typis," etc., 1621.) 



or towns, as he called them, one of which, Ycrngua, subsequently 
gave its name to the adjacent country. Here he vas told there 
existed extensive gold-mines, but would not stay, being still bent 
upon finding the strait. He was, Mr. Irving tells ns, nnder one 
of his frequent delusions. That he should l)e deluded and hon- 
est was possible, but when we find him constantly professing to 

143 II Therefore, to abate their pride and make them not contemn the Christians, 
the admiral caused a shot to be made at a company of them that was pot together 
upon a hillock, and the ball, falling in the midst of them, made them sensible there 
was a thunder-bolt as well as thunder, so that for the future they durst not appear 
even behind the mountains." — ("Ilistoria del Amiranto," chapter xciii.) 



APPEAEANCE OF A WATEE-SPOUT. 323 

hear from the natives that he is within a short distance (ten days' 
journey on foot) of Cathay — the dominions of the grand-khan — 
that he is in the land of Ophir — when he assures the sovereigns, 
upon the authority of these same savages, that a little beyond a 
place called Ciguare, which he visits, will be found the Ganges, 
his honesty is somewhat to be impugned. 

It is diverting also to remark that he has been taught by sad 
experience that it will not do to lie too barefacedly. He there- 
fore places himself under cover of the Indians, and indulges in 
a little taunt at the sovereigns, in which his ill-concealed malice 
and anger are momentarily exposed. 

'• When I discovered the Indies," he writes to their majesties, 
" I said that they composed the richest lordship in the world ; I 
spoke of gold, and pearls, and precious stones, of spices, and the 
traffic that might be carried on in them ; and, because all these 
things were not forthcoming at once, I was abused. This pun- 
ishment causes me to refrain from relating any thing but what 
the natives tell me." 

Owing to the bad weather, the crazed and worm-eaten condi- 
tion of his ships, as also, no doubt, to the fact that, though he 
had made the search for the strait a pretense for returning to 
Hispaniola, he did not himself believe in its existence, he at last 
abandoned it as fruitless, and made for Yeragua. 'Not willing, 
however, to own that he has proclaimed the existence of a strait 
where none existed, his crew were again made to mutiny, and 
it was, we are told, in compliance with their urgent entreaties 
that he consented to return. 

He sailed for Yeragua, but the wind, veering as he changed 
his course, still remained contrary; the elements conspired 
against him — a frightful storm prevailed. The ships were in 
imminent danger, when the awfalness of the situation culmi- 
nated in a huge water-spout, which appeared to be making tow- 
ard them. Columbus proceeded, in a somewhat novel manner, 
to avert this new peril, by which he excites the enthusiastic 
admiration of his would-be canonizer, M. de Lorgues, whose 
description of the scene and of the sailor-like bearing of the 
admiral, we cannot resist inserting : 

" It was one of those water-spouts which seamen call froiiJcSy 
which were then so little known, and which have since sub- 
merged so many vessels. ... At the cries of distress which 



324 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

reached his heart, the great man became suddenly reanimated. 
In face of the impending ruin he rises Avitli his wonted vigor, in 
order to survey and weigh the peril. He also perceives the for- 
midable thing that is approaching. The sea appeared to be 
sucked up toward the heavens. For this unknown phenomenon 
he saw no remedy. Art was useless and navigation powerless ; 
besides, tl)ere was no steering any longer. 

" Immediately Columbus, the adorer of the Word, suspected, 
in this terrific display of the brute forces of Nature, some satanic 
manoeuvre. He could not exorcise the powers of the air, accord- 
ing to the rites of the Church, fearing to usurp the authority 
of the priesthood ; but he called to mind that he M-as the chief 
of a Christian expedition, and that his object was a holy one ; 
and he desired, in his way, to comj^el the spirit of darkness to 
yield the passage to him. He had blessed wax-candles immedi- 
ately lighted and put in the lanterns ; then he girded himself 
with his sword over the cord of St. Francis, and, taking the 
book of the gospels, standing in the face of the water-spout, which 
was coming near, accosted it with the sublime declaration which 
commences the gospel of the well-beloved disciple of Jesus, St. 
John, the adoptive son of the blessed Virgin. 

" Trying to raise his voice above the howling of the tempest, 
the messenger of salvation declared to Typhon that in the be- 
irinnino: was the Word: that the AVord was with God, and that 
the Word was God; that all things have been made by him, 
and that without him was not any thing made that was made ; 
that in him was life, and that the life was the light of men ; 
that the light shineth in darkness, and that the darkness did not 
comprehend it ; that the world was made by him, and that the 
world knew him not ; that he came to his own and his own 
received him not ; but that he has given to those who believe in 
his name, and who are not born of the flesh, or of blood, or of 
the will of man, the power to become the children of God ; and 
that the AVord was made flesh, and that he dwelt among us. 

" Then, in the name of the divine AVord, Jesus Christ, whose 
words calmed the winds and appeased the billows, Christopher 
Columbus commands the water-spout to spare those who, becom- 
ing children of God, go to carry the cross to the extremities of 
the earth, and navigate in the name of the thrice Holy Trinity. 
Then, drawing his sword with a full and ardent faith, he traces 



DEFEAT OF THE WATEE-SPOUT. 



325 



in the air, witli the steel, the sign of the cross, and describes a 
circle around him with the sword, as if he had really severed or 
intercepted the water-spout. And, in fact — O prodigy ! — the 
water-spout, which was coming straight toward the caravels, ap- 
pearing to be pushed obliquely, passed between the half-sub- 
merged caravels, and Avent oft', bellowing, to lose itself in the 
immensity of the Atlantic. 

" This sudden retreat of a destructive phenomenon appeared 
to Cokimbus himself as a new favor from the Divine Majesty. 




Columbus vanquishes the "Watek-spout. 

The same piety which prompted him to have recourse to God to 
be ]>reserved, prevented him from having any doubt that he was 
indebted to Him for his preservation in this extremity." '" 

Irving, who seeks throughout to give a wise and scholarly 
character to his hero, perceiving how fatal to such a reputation 
M-as the manner in which Columbus thought to influence a phe- 
nomenon of Nature, would lead us to suppose that it was the 

i« De Lorgues, " Clr.-istopbe Colombe," vol. ii., liv. iv., chapter ii. 



326 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

ignorant sailors (those convenient scape-goats who are forever 
made to fill the breaches in Columbus's biographies) who frantic- 
ally repeated passages from St. John. M. de Lorgues is justly 
indignant at this new attempt to rob Columbus of his " well- 
earned fame." He says: 

*' It is vain for Mr. Irving to try to hide under the plural 
form the spontaneous initiative of Columbus, and to keep out of 
sight his individual action. The event itself intrinsically pro- 
tests against such a disfigurement of history, and o]iposes to it 
both moral and physical imjDossibilities. How could the cara- 
vels, separated from each other by the terrible commotion of the 
elements, scarcely able to see each other across the watery va- 
pors and the globules of foam filling the air, and still less hear- 
ing each other, how could they, we say, settle on a plan of 
combating the water-spout, agree about the choice of an evan- 
gelist, and fix on a passage deemed proper for warding off the 
peril? Not to mention other reasons, Irving does not seem to 
have considered that none of the pilots would, of themselves, 
have conceived an expedient so singularly foreign to nautical 
science,'" and, at the same time, so bold in a spiritual point of 
view." "' 

Whether owing to the admiral's impressive and appro- 
priate exhortation, or in pursuance of its natural course, the 
water-spout passed without harming the little caravels. The 
storm had, however, separated one of them from the rest, and it 
was only after encountering great peril, and losing her boat, that 
she was enabled to rejoin the squadron, which was in sorry con- 
dition — provisions exhausted or rotten — when, on the 17th of 
December, it found Avelcome refuge in a ])ort. Here, we are 
told, the natives lived in houses built in the tops of trees, like 
the nests of birds. Fernando, who seems to have entered fully 
into his father's spirit of invention, states that the practice was 
caused by the number of grifiins which abound in that place. 
Mr. Irving, wdiile drawing principally upon Fernando for his 
account of this voyage, wisely omits this absurdity, or travesties 
it into some appearance of truth by telling us the houses were 
thus built to escape from the Avild beasts, etc., that abound in 
that region. 

'■*' In til is wc fully concur. 

'•^ De Lorgue, "Christoplic Coloinbe," vol. ii., liv. iv., chapter ii. 



WAE BETWEEN SPANIARDS AND NATIVES. 327 

Leaving this port after much buffeting against adverse winds 
and waves, the caravels entered another, where the stock of wood, 
water, and provisions, was replenished, and whence they started 
on the 3d of January, 1503, and shortly reached a river near 
Yeragua, which Columbus named Belen (Bethlehem). 

Bartholomew, with the assistance of the friendly natives, 
especially of their chief Quibian, explored the country and found 
it rich in gold ; it was, therefore, determined to form a settle- 
ment on the banks of the Belen, where Bartholomew should be 
left with eighty men to amass gold, while Columbus returned to 
Spain. The settlement was made, but the licentious and covet- 
ous conduct of the Spaniards, here as elsewhere, made enemies 
of the friendly-disposed Indians. Hostilities soon commenced, 
and the chief Quibian was, with all his family, treacherously 
captured by Bartholomew, while all the gold (his possessing 
which constituted his chief offense) found in his house was, of 
course, seized. The chief succeeded in effecting his escape by 
plunging, bound as he was, into the sea ; his family, wives, and 
children were, however, taken on board Columbus's vessel, and 
confined in the hold. This capture aroused the indignation of 
Quibian, who, with his followers, now thirsted for vengeance. 
The colony was attacked. Columbus had already crossed the 
shallow bar at the entrance of the river, leaving one caravel for 
the use of the settlement, and was anchored at sea ready to sail 
at the first fair wind. He sent a boat up the river to procure 
supplies of wood and water. This boat was attacked when far 
inland, and destroyed by the outraged natives, and of tlie eight 
men composing its crew only one reached the settlement to tell 
the tale. Columbus, outside the river, remained alike ignorant 
of the loss of the boat and crew, and of the hostile disposition 
of the natives, who he hoped would have been frightened into 
submission by the fate of their chiefs family. The latter, im- 
mured in the loathsome hold of the wretched caravel, now 
resolved upon one brave and desperate attempt to recover free- 
dom. Piling up the stones which served as ballast to the ship, 
they climbed upon them, and succeeded in springing open the 
hatches, notwithstanding several sailors lay sleeping upon them, 
and a number, plunging into the sea, escaped. Some, however, 
were secured ere they could leap overboard ; these unfortunates 
were all found dead the next day, having themselves ended their 



328 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



lives rather than submit to be the slaves of their cruel and un- 
grateful c*a]^tors. 

Columbus was seriously alarmed at the efiect the reappear- 
ance of the prisoners would have upon their countrymen ; he 
feared that the recital of what they had endured would roilsc 
again the hatred and hostility of the tribes. He was, however, 
unable to resnter the river and learn the condition of the colony, 
or the fate of the men he had sent inland, on account of the 
heavy surge at the mouth of the Belen. 

It was at this period, when, by his mismanagement, affairs 




PUETENDED InTEEVTEW OF COLUMBCS ■HTTII THE DeITT. 

had reached a most disagreeable crisis, that one of Columbus's 
visions and convenient conversations with the Deity took place, 
if we are to believe himself, who thus describes the scene : 

" All hope of escape was gone. I toiled up to the highest 
part of the ship, and, with a quivering voice and fast-lalling 
tears, I called upon your highnesses' war-cnptains from each 
point of the compass '" to come to my succor, but there was no 



'■*' An appeal likely to be promptly responded to. 



THE DEITY CONVERSES WITH COLUMBUS. 329 

reply. At length, groaning with exhaustion, I fell asleep and 
heard a compassionate voice address me thus : 

" ' O fool, and slow to believe and to serve thy God, the God 
of all ! AVhat did He do more for Moses, or for David his ser- 
vant, than He has done for thee? From thine infancy. He has 
kept thee under his constant and watchful care. When He saw 
thee arrived at an age which suited his designs respecting thee. He 
brought wonderful renown to thy name throughout all the land. 
He gave thee for thine own the Indies, which form so rich a por- 
tion of the world, and thou hast divided them as it pleased thee, for 
He gave thee power to do so. He gave thee, also, the keys of those 
barriers of the ocean sea which were closed with such mighty 
chains ; and thou wast obeyed through many lands, and gained 
an honorable fame throughout Christendom. What more did 
the Most High do for the people of Israel when He brought 
them out of Egypt, or for David, who from a shepherd He made 
to be king in Judea ? Torn to Him, and acknowledge thine 
error. His mercy is infinite ; thine old age shall not prevent 
thee from accomplishing any great undertaking. He holds 
under his sway the greatest possessions. Abraham had ex- 
ceeded a hundred years of age when he begat Isaac, nor was 
Sarah young. Thou criest out for uncertain help ; answer 
who has afflicted thee so much, and so often — God or the 
World ? The privileges promised by God, He never fails in 
bestowing, nor does He ever declare, after a service has been 
rendered Him, that such was not agreeable with his intention, 
or that He had regarded the matter in another light; nor does 
He inflict suffering, in order to give effect to the manifestations 
of his power. His acts answer to his words, and it is his custom 
to perform all his promises with interest. Thus I have told 
thee what the Creator has done for thee, and what He does for 
all men. Even now He partially shows thee the reward ot 
so many toils and dangers incurred by thee in the service of 
others.' " 

There is, we cannot too often rex)eat, something revolting in 
this maudlin defense of Columbus, put by him in the mouth of 
the Almighty, whom, in his blasphemous effrontery, he causes 
to threaten all who do not believe in and cherish him. He 
even, behind the screen of Divinity, hazards a thrust at Isa- 
bella, and reveals, for a moment, the sharp claws which he usu- 



330 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

ally concealed beneath his smooth and cringing sycophancy. If 
tliis be madness, yet there is method in it. 

Matters did not much improve in spite of Columbus's very 
sensible appeal to her majesty's Avar-captains. Doubt and 
apprehension every day increased, till a hardy pilot, Pedro 
Lcdesma by name, volunteered to swim ashore and investigate. 
This he did, and discovered the colonists beleaguered by ever- 
increasing numbers of natives, and in despair at being left in 
that land at the mercy of the much-injured Indians. He also 
learned the fate of the boat and crew, and, upon reporting these 
facts to Columbus, the latter concluded to abandon the settle- 
ment. The caravel wdiich had been left in the river had been 
allowed to become utterly unseaworthy, and was abandoned ; all 
the men, therefore, embarked in the three remaining vessels. 

It appears that Columbus regarded the gold-mines of Ye- 
ragua as the only real benefit likely to accrue to Spain from his 
enterprises. He now took such precautions as to render it, he 
hoped, impossible for any but himself to return to them. He, 
therefore confiscated the charts of the pilots and mariners, and 
boastingly writes to the sovereigns: " Let them answer and say 
if they know where Yeragua is situated. I assert that they can 
give no other account than that they went to lands w'here there 
was an abundance of gold, and this they can certify surely 
enough; but they do not know the way to return thither for 
such a purpose ; they would be obliged to go on a voyage of 
discovery as much as if they had never been there before."' 

He evidently hoped to get some hold on Isabella, and wished 
to make her believe that she was at his mercy, so far as regarded 
the possession of the gold-mines. 

Adverse weather pertinaciously clings to Columbus, and, as 
he proceeded along the coast westward, he was obliged to aban- 
don another of his vessels at Puerto Bello. The condition of the 
remaining two was not such as to warrant much trifling, yet 
Columbus sailed among the Mulata Islands, where once more 
he — apparently considering the territories of the grand-khan as 

"* One of the witnesses in the lawsuit between Diego Columbus and the crown, 
Pedro Mateos of Higuey, testified that he had accompanied Columbus on his fourth 
voyage, and that he "wrote a book in which he had laid down all the mountains and 
rivers of the said province (Veragua), and the admiral afterward took it away from 
him." — (Navarrete, " Colecc. Dip.," vol. iii., p. 5S4.) 



STEANDED IN JAMAICA. 33I 

somewLat ubiquitous — declared that he has reached one of the 
provinces belonging to that prince. 

What led him to suppose, or pretend to suppose this, it is 
difficult to imagine, unless he hoped to inspire his disgusted 
crew with a little confidence in and respect for him. 

These gyrations he seems to have performed with a view to 
confusing the pilots after taking away their charts ; but regard 
for his own safety now made him adopt a northerly course and 
steer for Hispaniola direct. 

The two caravels were about this time driven violently against 
each other; the bow of one and the stern of the other were 
shattered, and three anchors lost. The current bore the vessels 
westward, till they reached the island of Cuba, where cassava- 
bread was provided by the natives, and they again set sail for 
Hispaniola, but reached instead Jamaica, where, on the 23d of 
June, 1503, at a place which he called Santa Gloria, he ran the 
dilapidated remains of his " considerable equipment " hard 
aground, and he and his worn-out crew landed on the island, 
whence they could not again depart till, by some means, other 
vessels should be procured. 

It may not be amiss here to call the attention of the reader 
to the fact that Columbus, notwithstanding all the nautical skill 
he might be supposed to have acquired during his long life, was 
singularly unfortunate with all the ships intrusted to him. We 
do not wonder that seamen objected to sail under him. Ob- 
stinate and arrogant, he would take no advice, yet was obviously 
incapable of directing a vessel. His carelessness cost him a ves- 
sel at Belen, another at Puerto Bello ; the collision which shat- 
tered the other two seems an accident which some skill and cau- 
tion might have prevented; but such details were apparently 
beneath the notice of this "extraordinary man." 

Sheds were built on board the two stranded caravels, and a 
forced and permanent stay prepared for. Diego Mendez, who 
appears to have been the most able and energetic man of the 
expedition, made friendly treaties with the natives at diftercnt 
points, wherein it was agreed that they should every day bring, 
to certain specified places, provisions in exchange for European 
trinkets. This satisfactory arrangement effected, Columbus be- 
came desirous of communicating with Hispaniola. No means, 
however, of doing this existed, save native canoes ; the distance 



332 I^IFE OF COLUMBUS. 

was forty leagues ; few would dare such an undertakiug. Men 
dez, liowever, came again to the rescue. lie possessed an excel- 
lent canoe, for which he had bartered with a chief who had 
shown him great friendship. This chief had also assigned him 
six Indians to manage tlie canoe. In this frail bark he now pro- 
posed to brave the wide sea and stroug currents which divide 
Jamaica from Hispaniola. Taking with him one Spanish com- 
rade and his six Indians, and having made his canoe as strong 
against wind and wave as was possible, besides providing it with 
sails, he pronounced himself ready to start on his perilous voy- 
age. Columbus intrusted him with a letter to Ovando, solicit- 
ing a ship and provisions. He also sent by him a letter to the 
sovereigns, relating the events of this his fourth voyage, from 
which we have had occasion to make several quotations. This 
letter is a strange medley of arrogance and humility, boastful- 
ness and begging. Here we find him declaring that he is in 
the land whence Solomon procured his gold.'" There he im- 
plores their highnesses to pardon his bitter complaints, which are 
called forth by his ruined condition, and laments, with maudlin 
pathos, over his misfortunes, declaring that he had made this 
voyage without any hope of profit or emolument. 

With this missive Diego Meudez departed. If ever man did 
his duty bravely and efiiciently, JMendez so did his. It was 
owing to him that the Spaniards were rescued from starvation — 
owing to him that they now had some hope of departure from 
their island-prison. Unfortunately, however, he was captured, 
soon after his departure, by hostile Indians, from whom he with 
difficulty escaped. Regaining possession of his canoe, he re- 
turned to the harbor and stranded ships, and, nothing daunted, 
proposed again to attempt the undertaking, if a body of armed 
men could escort him as far as his boat should remain in sight. 

Two d-anoes were manned for the voyage, each containing 
six Spaniards and ten natives. One was. commanded by Mcn- 
dez, the other by Fiesco. The latter received orders from Co- 
lumbus to return to Jamaica and report as soon as the canoes 

'*' " Joscphus thinks that this gold was fouiul in Aurca. If it were so, I contend 
that these uiines of the Aurea are identical with those of Veragua, which, as I have 
said before, extends westward twenty days' journey, at an equal distance from the pole 
and the line. Solomon bought all of it — gold, precious stones, and silver — but your 
majesties need only send to seek them, to have them at your pleasure." 



VOYAGE OF MENDEZ. 



333 



should reach Hispaniola. Menclez was first to interview Ovando 
and urge the immediate dispatch of a vessel to the relief of Co- 
lumbus ; then to proceed immediately to Spain and deliver to 
the sovereigns the important letter aforementioned. 

Bartholomew, with a body of men, followed the canoes along 
the coast, watched them till they had entirely disappeared, and 
then returned to Santa Gloria. 




Indian HAiiMOCK 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 

SOJOURN OF COLUMBUS IN JAMAICA. — VOYAGE OF DIEGO MENDEZ. 

Although the forced sojourn of the Spaniards in Jamaica 
commenced under as favorable auspices as could be expected, the 
common misfortune, into which all had alike fallen, does not 




Columbus usueeed to nis Repast while stranded at Jamaica. 



appear to have abated the arrogance of Columbus, or the dis- 
trust and hatred with which he was regarded. 

It is even said that, though in such miserable plight, he in- 
sisted upon the observance of all the etiquette which he consid- 
ered due to the rank of viceroy, that he caused himself to be 



SHABBY GRANDEUR OF COLUMBUS. 335 

ushered into the thatch-sheds, to his frugal meals of Indian fare, 
by " gentlemen esquires," bearing fiabella, while all rose at his 
approach."" The Franciscan garb, which, in mock humility, he 
had assumed, must have accorded well with this ridiculous vani- 
ty. Such absurdities are characteristic of Columbus, who was as 
tenacious of fictitious as he was incapable of inspiring real 
respect. 

His conduct was such that, ere long, suppressed murmurs 
swelled into open rebellion, if indeed disaffection under such 
circumstances can be termed rebellion. It is impossible to 
judge rightly of the difficulties and disagreements occurring in 
Jamaica at this period, as the only account we have of them is 
from the pen of Fernando Columbus. From him all other 
authors have borrowed more or less. It is evident, however, 
that the majority of the men were hostile to Columbus; that 
only the sickly and feeble remained on his side. Fernando, 
who is not what may be termed an impartial historian, and who 
does not scruple to distort facts, or indeed invent them, when 
his father's reputation is at stake, nevertheless allows q;uasi 
admissions of the universal feeling of distrust entertained tow- 
ard Columbus, to escape him. He writes thus : 

" Francis de Porras came upon the quarter-deck of the ad- 
miral's ship, and said to him, ' My lord, what is the meaning 
that you will not go into Spain, and will keep us all here per- 
ishing?' The admiral, hearing these imusual, insolent words, 
and suspecting what the matter might be, very calmly answered 
he did not see which way they could go till those that were gone 
in the canoes sent a ship ; that no man was more desirous to 
be gone than he, as well for his own private interests as for the 
good of them all, for whom he was accountable ; but that, if he 
had any thing to propose, he would again call together the cap- 
tains and principal men to consult, as had been done several 
times before. Porras replied that it was no time to talk, but 
that he should embark quickly or stay there by himself; and, so 
turning his back, added, in a loud voice, ' I am going to Spain 
with those that will follow me.' At which time, all his follow- 
ers who were present began to cry out, ' "We will go with you ! 
We will go with you ! ' and, running about, possessed them- 
's" lie was served at table as a grandee. " All hail ! " was said to him on state 
occasions. — (Helps, "Life of Columbus," p. 124.) 



336 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

selves of the forecastle, poop, and round-tops, all in confusion, 
and crying, ' Let them die ! ' others, ' For Spain, for Spain ! ' and 
others, ' What shall we do, captain?' Though the admiral was 
then in bed, so lame of the gout that he coukl not stand, yet he 
could not forbear rising and stumbling out at this noise. But 
two or three worthy persons, his servants, laid hold of and with 
labor laid him in his bed, that the mutineers might not murder 
him. Then they ran to his brother, who was courageously come 
out with a half-pike in his hand, and, wresting it out of his 
hands, put him with his brother, desiring Captain Porras to go 
about his business, and not do some mischief they might all 
suft'er for; that he might be satisfied they did not oppose 
his going, but if he should kill the admiral, he could not 
expect but to be severely punished, without hopes of any bene- 
fit. The tumult being somewhat appeased, the conspirators took 
ten canoes that were by the ship's side, and which the admiral 
had bought all about the island, and went aboard them as joy- 
fully as if they had been in some port of Spain. Upon this, 
many more, who had no hand in the plot, in despair to see 
themselves, as they thought, forsaken, taking what they could 
along with them, went aboard the canoes with them, to the 
great sorrow and affliction of those few faithful servants who 
remained with the admiral, and of all the sick, who thought 
themselves lost forever, and w^ithout hopes of ever getting off". 
And it is certain that, had the people been well, not twenty men 
had remained with the admiral." "' 

As we have said, the above is the source whence subsequent 
authors have draw'n for their versions of this episode, and the 
only contemporaneous one which has come down to us. As 
one author, the most impartial who has hitherto written upon 
Columbus, shrewdly observes, "It is possible Porras might have 
had something to say ;." and, considering the numerous prece- 
dents existing, we deem it safe to believe that Columbus was 
here, as in his other misfortunes, more the victim of his own self- 
ish and arrogant passions, than of the evil dispositions of other 
men. 

The S]5aniards, under Porras, were not successful in their 
attempt to reach Ilispaniola. They returned to Jamaica, where 
they lived, for some time, as best they could. 

161 " Historia del Amiiantc,"' chapter cii. 



AN ECLIPSE AND ITS EFFECT. 337 

The Indians had, in tlie mean time, become wearied of tlie 
contributions under which they were laid, and provisions began 
to fail. It was then that Columbus had recourse to that won- 
derful stratagem which excites the admiration of his biographers, 
as being a proof of his great astronomical knowledge. Knowing 
that an eclipse of the moon was to take place on a certain night, 
he summoned the leading chiefs to a conference, at which he 
informed them that his God protected him in all things, as they 
might see, for Mendez and his followers, who had departed at 
his command, had arrived safely at their destination ^'^ (we need 
not comment upon this falsehood ; the reader will have perceived 
its grossness, for, at the time, Columbus had received no news 
of Mendez), while Porras, who had attempted the same journey, 
in opposition to his wishes, had been unsuccessful. He told 
them his God was angry with them (the Indians) for not fur- 
nishing the white men with food, and, in testimony of this 
divine anger, the moon, of which he (Columbus) was the off- 
spring,"' would that night lose its brightness. 

This prediction is not so wonderful as writers would lead us 
to suppose. Eclipses were predicted and the time of their ap- 
pearance recorded then, as now, both in almanacs and in more 
comprehensive " tables of eclipses," which were predicted sev- 
eral years in advance. It was from this source that Columbus 
learned the approach of this particular eclipse. He, as we have 
seen, made a mistake of more than eighteen degrees when cal- 
culating one for himself. Such a miscalculation is too great a 
one for a good astronomer to be guilty of. Mr. Irving declares 
it to have been owing to the incorrectness of his tables of eclipse, 
thereby admitting the existence of the latter, but, when relating 
the stratagem with the Indians, he gives all the credit to Colum- 
bus's own skill and learning. 

We think, at best, that this much-laujded device was but a 
sorry one, and for once agree with M. de Lorgues that such gross 
juggling was an unworthy way of working on the credulity of 

1^2 Irving, " Columbus," book xvi,, chapter iii. 

'53 Most historians content themselves with asserting- that Columbus declared the 
eclipse to be a sign of the anger of God, and do not mention the relationship to the 
moon claimed by him. Ogilby records this additional absurdity, which appears to ua 
so worthy of Columbus, and withal so probable to have emanated from him, that we 
consider it a fit adjunct to the whole farce it pertains to (see Ogilby's " America," 
chapter iii., section iii.). 



33S LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

the savaf^es, and of bringing forward the sacred name of God. 
Gross and unworthy as it was, it is, however, evident that Co- 
lumbus perpetrated it, and the plan seems to have worked well. 
The Indians professed penitence, and Columbus consented to 
intercede for them, and, when the shadow passed from the face 
of the planet, reappeared and informed them that its restored 
light was the result of his intercession. Thenceforth there was 
no scarcity of supplies. 

It becomes us here to make some brief mention of the mem- 
orable voyage made by Diego Mendez to Ilispaniola. This 
devoted man served Columbus faithfully and well, at the risk of 
his own life, but he later learned, by bitter experience, that self- 
ish ingratitude was to be the only reward for these services. 

Great must have been the hardships experienced by men 
sailing in open canoes across a wide track of ocean. Mendez 
appears to have organized an effective and safe routine. The 
Spaniards and Indian crew were divided into two bands, one of 
which watched and labored while the other slept. 

The burning rays of the tropical sun poured down from a 
cloudless sky upon the uncovered canoes ; the heat was intensi- 
fied by the reflection from the water. Soon the Indian rowers 
became exhausted, M-ater and provisions failed ; the brave band 
endured unspeakable agonies. On the second night, one of the 
Indians, overcome by labor, heat, and agonizing thirst, died ; 
the parched lips and powerless strokes of his companions pre- 
mised a like fate for them. The last drop of water had been 
drunk, and despair had almost seized even the strong heart of 
Mendez, when the light of the rising moon revealed a small isl- 
and. Thither they eagerly steered, the lagging oarsmen inspired 
with new vigor. The island (Navassa) proved to be a mass of 
rock, entirely destitute of vegetation ; rain-water, however, 
abounded in the hollows and crevices. Several of the unfortu- 
nate Indians drank so eagerly and freely that they died on the 
spot. The more reasonable of, the worn-out party, after assuag- 
ing their thirst, made a fire of driftwood, and roasting the 
shell-fish, which they found in abundance, made a hearty meal, 
which restored them to their wonted vigor. The following day 
M^as spent on the island resting. In the evening the canoes 
again set sail, and, on the following morning, four days after 



MENDEZ EEACHES HISPANIOLA. 339 

their departure from Jamaica, landed at Cape Tibnrii, in His- 
paniola. "• Here," says Diego Mendez, in liis narrative, " I 
brought the canoe up to a very beautiful part of the coast, to 
which many of the natives soon came and brought with them 
many articles of food, so that I remained there two days to take 
rest." 

These two days expired, he set out, taking with him six 
native Indians, for San Domingo, a coasting voyage of some 
thirty leagues. Fiesco would have returned to Jamaica, as had 
been agreed, but his companions and the exhausted Indians 
would not hear of a second time exposing themselves to the ter- 
rible hardships they had endured, so the sea-bound prisoners of 
Jamaica were kept in suspense. 

On reaching San Domingo, Mendez was informed that 
Ovando was in Xaragua, a province fifty leagues distant. For 
this place he bravely set out on foot and alone, and reached his 
destination in safety, after achieving, as Mr. Irving justly says, 
" one of the most perilous expeditions ever undertaken by a 
devoted follower for the safety of his commander." 

For seven months he remained in Xaragua, but no ship was 
sent to the relief of Columbus. Ovando has been virulently 
assailed for this culpable neglect. We may be permitted to 
doubt, however, whether he did not thereby act according to 
the wishes, if not in obedience to the direct orders, of the sover- 
eigns. It is probable, indeed Irving hints as much, that Colum- 
bus's would-be negotiations with Genoa were better known than 
that worthy would have liked, and that, tidings of these having 
reached Ovando, he considered the fortuitous imprisonment at 
Jamaica an easy solution of the difficult problem, "What to do 
with Columbus ? He learned from Mendez that the Spaniards 
were not likely to lack food, and therefore considered that haste 
was unnecessary. 

When eight months had elapsed since the departure of Men- 
dez, a ship was sent to Jamaica, bearing a present from Ovando 
to the colony of a barrel of wine and two flitches of bacon, but 
there appears to have been no intention of permitting Colum- 
bus, as yet, to return into the world. 

Escobar, who commanded the vessel, reached Jamaica in 
March, 1504. He came alongside the stranded caravels in a 
boat (his vessel remaining out at sea), and, having delivered the 



34:0 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

wine and bacon, rowed off to a short distance, whence he in- 
formed Cohunbus that there were no vessels then in Hispaniola 
of sufficient size to bring him away with all his followers; that, 
as soon as one arrived, the governor would send it to his relief, 

Columbus, though feeling, as his son informs us, nothing but 
enmity at heart, dissimulated as usual, and wrote a most friendly 
letter to .Ovando, declaring his satisfaction that he should have 
the management of affairs, and defending himself (as he gener- 
ally did when feeling guilty) from a charge which had not been 
made against him, namely, that his designs in returning to His- 
paniola were not of a loyal character.'" 

"With this missive, Escobar departed, leaving the disap- 
pointed Spaniards again to lament, with some cause, let us 
admit, having joined their fortunes with those of a man so 
despised and distrusted by their sovereigns, as circumstances 
showed Columbus to be. 

The disaffected rallied around the brothers Porras, and M^ere 
loud in their complaints. Some, in distant parts, would not 
even believe that a ship had arrived and departed, but imagined 
this to be but another of the numerous falsehoods with M-hidi 
Columbus had cajoled and flattered them. It was in vain that 
the latter sent part of the bacon and wine as tangible proofs of 
his veracity. " The worthlessness of a man's word," says Irving, 
" may always be known by the extravagant means he nses to 
enforce it.*' Fully subscribing to this sentiment, we feel that 
the rebels were justified in disbelieving Columbus, maugre his 
bacon in an island where the commodity was scarce; at any 
rate, they resolved to separate themselves from one whose bad 
odor in Spain entailed upon his lucldess followers such evil con- 
sequences, and who was, in himself, so little worthy of devotion 
or self-sacrifice. 

A fiirht ensued, in which several of the disaffected were killed. 
Pedro de Ledesma, the pilot, m'Iio, by swimming ashore at Be- 
len, had saved the lives of Bartholomew and his companions, was 
now covered with wounds, inflicted by that same Bartholomew, 
any one of which would havx been sutficient to kill an ordinary 
man. Such, however, was the vigor of his constitution, that he 
recovered, to the astonishment of all. Porras was made pris?- 
oner, and Bartholomew returned to the ships, having had the 
'" Navarrete, " Colecc. Dip," vol. ii., p. 4SC. 



DEVOTION OF MENDEZ. 



341 



best of tlie fight. The rebels offered to capitulate, and wei'c, we 
are told, generously pardoned by Columbus. It is probable 
that he, too, was of the opinion that Porras, if heard, might have 
something to say, and was therefore quite willing to come to 
terms. He, however, detained Porras prisoner, in order to have 
some hold on his followers. 

At length two ships appeared, to the relief alike of Colum- 
bus and his enemies. One had been bought and fitted out by 
the foithful Mendez, the other was provided by Ovando. 

Mendez had thus nobly and indefatigably labored for the 
accomplishment of his difficult mission. What reward, will be 
asked, was given by the noble, the great-hearted Columbus for 
such services ? He jpromised him the office of alguazil of His- 
paniola. This post was, nevertheless, given by Diego Colum- 
bus, who had joined in the promise made by his father, to Bar- 
tholomew, and all the solicitations of Mendez were powerless to 
procure any recognition of his devotion He died poor. 

The king seems to have better appreciated the heroic deed 
than he for whom it was performed. He granted Mendez a 
coat-of-arms, upon which a canoe was engraved, in memory of 
his perilous voyage 







Fl.TING-FlSU. 



CIIAPTEPt XXYIL 

DELIVERY OF COLUMBUS AND HIS COMPAXIOXS. — HIS RETURN TO 
SPAIN. HIS DEATH. 

Just a year bad elapsed since the two shattered caravels had 
stranded at Santa Gloria, when these two vessels reached Ja- 
maica in June, 1504. On the 28th all embarked and joyfully 
bade forewell to the island w^hich had so long been their prison. 
The transit to liispaniola was a tempestuous one. The vessel 
was detained some days at the island Beata, whence Columbus 
wrote a letter, full of gratitude and professions of submission, to 
Ovando.'" His conduct was soon to show the insincerity of 
these professions ; even while he made them, he felt nothing but 
enmity at heart toward the governor. 

Upon his landing, on the 13th of August, at San Domingo, 
Ovando received him with kindness and hospitality, installing 
him in the government-house, and, during the whole of his stay, 
treating him with urbanity and politeness. This is admitted by 
even the advocates of Columbus. They would have it believed, 
however, that Ovando's kindness was hypocritical, and cite as 
proof of this that he proceeded to inform himself as to the par- 
ticulars of the late mutiny of Porras. This had taken place, be 
it remembered, M'ithin his jurisdiction, but, as he did not blindly 
accept, as convincing proof of the guilt of the mutineers, the 
testimony of Columbus, the latter waxed wroth, and, notwith- 
standing the letters he had written to Ovando, recognizing his 
authority and promising submission to it, he now openly and 
offensively declared that he was viceroy, and had, therefore, 
greater power than Ovando. He professed the utmost indigna- 
tion that the latter should dare to question, or attempt to ascer- 

1S6 Navarrctc, " Colecc. Dip.," vol. ii., p. 487. 



COLUMBUS EETUENS TO SPAIN". 343 

tain, whether the six men who had been killed in Jamaica had 
deserved their fate. Six human lives, he held, were as nothing 
compared to his rank and dignity. 

Ovando seems to have regarded this bluster with the amused 
indulgence accorded to a spoiled and petulant child. He still 
treated Columbus with polite consideration, but calmly pro- 
ceeded to the duties of his office. Investigation was made, the 
result of which apparently went far to justify the mutiny ; for 
Porras, though sent to Spain, was never punished. 

Thoroughly disgusted with the state of affairs in San Do- 
mingo, and convinced that an attempt to reinstate himself in 
power must be futile, Columbus now determined to return, with 
all speed, to Spain. Two ships were placed at his disposal, and, 
after a month's sojourn in Hispaniola, he set sail. A storm, 
arising soon after his departure, carried away the mast of his 
ship. He sent it back to port, and embarked on the second, 
commanded by his brother Bartholomew. This homeward voy- 
age was one continued storm,'** and his ship was in sorry plight 
when, on the 7th of l^ovember, 1504, it landed him at San Lu- 
car de la Barrameda. He was completely bedridden, and had 
himself transferred immediately to Seville. 

Here he no doubt learned the fruitlessness of his attempt to 
excite the ambition of Genoa. She refrained from any espousal 
of his cause. The Genoese evidently tacitly, if not openly, re- 
fused to have any dealings with him. This refusal has been 
wrongly attributed, by some writers, to his low birth."' 

There is a letter to be found in Navarrete, bearing the date 

'^^ The miiaculous and extraordinary are made, as ever, to form a part of this 
voyage. Fernando, in his relation of it, will not content himself with reporting a 
terrific storm, such as might have been encountered by an ordinary mortal, but, in 
order that this " incomparable man " may be made to display his ingenuity, we read : 

" The weather being fair, and we very still, the mast flew into four pieces, but the 
courage of the lieutenant (Bartholomew), and the admiral's ingenuity, though he could 
not rise out of his bed for the gout, found a remedy for this misfortune, making 
a jury-mast of a yard, and strengthening the middle of it with ropes, and some planka 
they took from the poop and stern." — (" Historia del Amirante," chapter cviii.) 

^" Ogilby, who makes Genoa the birthplace of Columbus, says that Peter Bezarus, 
a countryman of Columbus, "gives unquestionable proofs of his mean extract, and, 
among other things, that the commonwealth of Genoa refused to receive the great 
legacy which Columbus left them in his will, because they fondly thought it a dero- 
gation to their honor, being so great a republic, to take any thing of bequest from a 
fisher's son." — (Ogilbt, "America," chapter iii.) 
28 



344 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

of 1502, which purports to have been -written by a "magistrate 
of St. George" to Columbus, complimenting the latter in high 
terms, but cliscussing none of the plans he had proposed. The 
authenticity of this document may, however, be doubted, as we 
find Columbus in 1504 complaining to Oderigo that no notice 
has been taken of his proposals. 

This hope dashed to the ground, he became, once more, 
urgent in his appeals to the crown for a restitution of his digni- 
ties. We are told that he thought more of his titles and offices 
than of the pecuniary privileges which had been accorded to 
him. The reason for this is very evident : though his demands 
for money were constant and exorbitant, yet he was aware that 
the expenses of his entei*prises had hitherto far exceeded his 
profits, and he, no doubt, appreciated the impossibility of becom- 
ing rich by claiming the fulfillment of his bond in that quarter. 

The crown was now awakened to the fact that it had no 
power to grant the titles of viceroy and admiral in perpetuity ; 
and the sovereigns, far from, regretting this, or desiring to over- 
step their prerogative, were rejoiced at this loop-hole through 
which they were enabled to escape from the consequences of 
their foolish concessions. 

For these titles, Columbus, with the tenacity of age and the 
puerility of childhood, solicited, but solicited in vain. The 
queen, who had been in a critical condition at the time of his 
arrival, expired a few days after, on the 26th of November, ]504. 
Henceforth it was to Ferdinand alone that Columbus addressed 
his demands; but Ferdinand met them, as Isabella had done, 
with tacit refusal. 

He was, at this time, wretchedly poor — living by borrowing 
— and confesses that he " most times has not wherewithal to pay 
his bill" at the tavern where he lodges. 

He vn'ote to Ferdinand, inveighing against Ovando, assuring 
that monarch that the latter was derelict in the performance of 
his duties, careless of the treasure, and, above all, iinjyopular in 
the island. It is strange that Columbus, who had been so ex- 
ceedingly hateful to the people of that same island, should bring 
forward unpopularity as a proof of un worthiness, and still more 
strange that he did not perceive that, in admitting unpopularity 
to be a just cause tor the removal of an officer, he fully justified 
the proceedings of Bobadilla toward himself. 



I 



FEUITLESS APPEALS. 345 

His letters were not noticed ; the Spanisli court was weary 
of this '"'■ nudo-nocchier jpromettitor di regnV (pauper-pilot prom- 
iser of realms). He had failed in all he had promised, and, 
while tenacious that others should fulfill their promises, he had 
not fulfilled one of his. He had not visited the grand-khan ; he 
had not brought tons of gold to Spain ; he had not opened the 
commerce of the East to that kingdom ; he had not even dis- 
covered the strait, of the existence of which he had been so con- 
fident that he had been allowed, though in disgrace, to make a 
fourth voyage in search of it. Yet these, by his own proposi- 
tion, were the services for which the privileges he claimed were 
to be the guerdon ; all this, which he had agreed to accomplish, 
and had not accomplished, was the basis of his contract. It is, 
therefore, unjust to accuse the sovereigns of ingratitude in not 
performing their part of it, when he had not performed his, even 
could they legally have accorded to him the titles in question, 
which we have shown they could not. 

When written appeals failed, he proceeded in person to 
court, then held in Segovia. Once he attempted the journey, 
but infirmity compelled him to abandon it. At length, in the 
month of May, 1505, he reached his destination. 

The king received him courteously, but we may imagine 
that, when the infirm, impecunious, and aged man before him 
sought to excite his interest and secure his favor by promising to 
undertake another voyage, wherein all former ones should be 
surpassed in services rendered, the sensible monarch must have 
with difficulty refrained from smiling. 

If Columbus, twelve years previous, had been unable to per- 
form what he had promised, how absurd would it have been to 
expect him now, when bedridden and fast failing of old age, to 
undertake voyages or render services ! Ferdinand contented 
himself with recommending to Columbus that he should rest 
and nurse his infirmities. 

He took no notice of his vindictive accusations against 
Ovando ; he even offered him titles which might compensate 
him for those which the queen had, without authority, granted 
him. These Columbus refused. The king then proposed to 
leave the matter to arbitration, allowing Columbus to choose 
the arbiter. He selected Diego de Deza, formerly Bishop of 
Palencia, but since promoted to the archbishopric of Seville. 



34:6 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

This prelate was, we are told, the old and tried friend of Colum- 
bus. Of him the latter thus writes : " lie was the cause that 
their highnesses obtained possession of the Indies, who induced 
me to remain in Castile when I was on the road to leave it." 
And again : 

" If the Bishop of Palencia has arrived, or should arrive, tell 
him how much I have been gratified by his prosperity ; and 
that, if I come, 1 shall lodge M'itli his Grace, even though he 
should not invite me ; for we must return to our ancient frater- 
nal aifection." 

Yet so evidently conscious was he of the illegality of his 
claims that, having chosen this friendly arbiter, he would only 
consent to submit to him the question of revenue, not that of 
titles and hereditary oflSces. 

This, of course, defeated the whole plan of arbitration, for it 
was precisely the titles, and only the titles, which were matters 
for arbitrament ; the question of revenue could be settled by 
any accountant. The matter, therefore, Mliich might have now 
been arranged with some possible advantage to Columbus, was 
deferred. Unwilling to come to any but his own terms, and 
these being impossible to accede to, he was again an unheeded 
solicitor. It is about this time that we find him interesting 
Yespucci in his behalf, and eager to profit by the good standing 
of the latter at court {see chapter on Yespucci). 

But the wretched old man was clinging to the vanities of the 
world when on the very verge of the tomb. His malady, 
aggravated by age, had increased rapidly, and his career was 
near its close. When conscious that his end was approaching, 
he souirht to atone for the crimes of his life bv strict religious 
discipline ; he still wore the Franciscan garb — token of hu- 
mility ; he sought to propitiate Heaven by redoubling in prayer 
and fasting. 

In the month of May, 1506, he made the codicils which we 
have mentioned, and, on the 20th of that month, breathed his 
last. 

Well, perhaps, would it have been for him, had his name 
been allowed to sink into oblivion. ^Vell, certainly, would it 
have been for justice, had not a fictitious glory been created for 
him at the expense of truly good and great men, out of the 
ruins of whose good names his renown had sprung up. 



CHAPTEE XXYIII. 

BIJEIAL OF COLUMBUS. — HIS KEPUTED TORIES AND MONUMENTS. 

The falsehoods whicli have been promulgated concerning 
Columbus do not end at his death. We are told that, upon its 
occurrence, Ferdinand allowed his conscience to direct him, and, 
with tardy justice, ordered a magnificent tomb to be erected at 
Seville to his memory, bearing the following inscription : 

"A Castilla y a Leon 
Nuevo mundo dio Colon." 

Such an act on the part of the king would have been a tacit 
admission that he had culpably neglected a great man who had 
thus benefited Spain. That he gave no such orders, that no 
monument was erected, is now an ascertained fact. 

Mr. George Suftiner, to whom we are indebted elsewhere, 
comes again to our assistance and that of truth. He quotes the 
inscription on the tomb of Fernando Columbus (the biographer, 
who died some thirty years after his father) in the cathedral at 
Seville, and reports the above inscription as forming a part of it. 
He continues : 

" Throughout all Spain I know of no other inscription to the 
memory of Columbus. At Yalladolid, where he died, and where 
his body lay for some years, there is none that I could discover, 
neither is there any trace of any at the Cartiija, near Seville, 
to which his body was afterward transferred, and in which his 
brother was bui'ied." 

Thus the inscription existed only on the grave of Fernando, 
illegitimate son of Columbus, who, having embraced an ecclesi- 
astical career and devoted himself to letters, left his library to 
the Carthusian monks, on condition, we are told, of their placing 



348 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

over bis grave, in the Cathedral of Seville, the above inscription. 
He died, as we have said, more than thirty years after Columbus. 

It is a noticeable fact that the Government of Spain lias ever 
abstained from any spontaneous recognition of Columbus and 
the claims set up for him by historians. 

It is alleged that his remains were removed from the convent 
of the Franciscans, at Valladolid, to the Carthusian monastery 
near Seville, in 1513, and that, in 153G, they were transported to 
San Domingo, in Ilispaniola. Be this as it may, we know that 
when Spain, in 1795, ceded the island of Ilispaniola to France, 
she made no reservation of the ashes of Cohimbus, nor did she 
contemplate their removal, as she naturally would have done, 
had she regarded them in the light of national relics. 

It was the officious zeal of the Admiral Aristozabal, who 
was sent to aid in surrendeiing the island to the French, which 
first imagined these remains to be of importance to Spain. So 
little, evidently, was thought of them, that this same Aristoza- 
bal was only " informed " that they were deposited in the island 
upon his arrival there. The information, however, stirs up his 
patriotism ; he will not permit them to repose on French soil, 
and desires that their re-retranslatlon shall be of an official char- 
acter, and accompanied with that kind of pomp and display 
which would have been so grateful to the living Columbus. The 
governor of the island entered into this project, though he con- 
fessed he had received no instnictions from flie Spanish Govern- 
ment concerning the matter; but "as he had not time, without 
great inconvenience," to consult the sovereign on the matter, he 
and Aristozabal, with the eagerly-proflered cooperation of the 
clerg}", decided to act on their own responsibility, and transfer 
these sacred remains to Havana, in Cuba. This was done, we 
are told, with almost royal honors. But, however important the 
bones of Columbus had hecome to Spain in 1795, they evidently 
had not been much revered during the two hundred and fifty 
years previous, and, when all is told, and the pompous pageant 
which transported them to Havana described, it is by no means 
certain that the bones and mould scraped up with such care were 
the veritable ashes of Columbus."* If they were, why had they 

"8 M. Dc Lorgucs, speaking of the disappearance of tlie true cross (set up by 
Columbus, which had worked so many miracles), says : " It is not strange that, in a 
country ruined and terrified, it was uot known what had become of the true cross, 



FICTITIOUS HONORS, MONUMENTS, ETC. 349 

been thus neglected ? wliy had the slab or panel which closed the 
niche in the altar in which they are said to have lain, remained 
uninscribed ? This attempt at honoring (when driven from the 
island) remains which had been allowed to repose unmarked for 
more than two hundred and fifty years of residence and posses- 
sion, is too spasmodic and tardy to be regarded as the sponta- 
neous admission, on the part of Spain, that she was under obli- 
gations to the man Columbus, or to his memory, and, though 
the above unauthorized acts of the governor and admiral are 
said to have afterward received the sanction of the crown, it is 
easy to perceive that this sanction was given, rather than, by dis- 
approval, to give greater notoriety to an unpleasant matter. 

Thus the last stone of the structure is overturned. It seemed 
to authors necessary, in order fitly to close their romances en- 
titled histories of Columbus, and their record of the persecutions 
of which they represent him to have been the victim, to invent 
a sort of poetic justice, by which Ferdinand is made to order the 
erection of a superb monument with a pompous inscription, and, 
stung by remorse, in this act to confess his ingratitude and in- 
justice. But, unfortunately for romance, though more fortu- 
nately for justice, this statement is a fiction ; the fiction has been 
proved, and we are obliged to fear that the " cold and calculat- 
ing Ferdinand " descended to his grave, complacently conscious 
of having treated Columbus as well as, if not better than, he 
deserved. 

Fortunate would it have been for the honor of these United 
States, had their representatives, in this matter, acted as wisely 
as did Spain. Then the brazen doors at the national Capitol, so 
creditable, as works of art, to those who designed and cast them, 
w^ould have illustrated some worthier theme ; nor would" the na- 
tion one day regret that Congress had felt it necessary to import 
brass from Bavaria, and to expend the public treasure in caus- 
ing the bronze of Munich to symbolize a fiction. Here is 
wrought, with artistic skill, the fabled " triumphal entry into 
Barcelona," " full of the glory of success and waving banners. 

.... when at San Domingo the exact burial-place of Columbus himself was forgot- 
ten." — (" Christophe Colombe," vol. ii., livre iv., chapter viii.) 

It may be that these relic-hunters unconsciously gathered the remains of some 
victim of " the admiral," which, if conscious of the label upon the box which con. 
tained them, would indignantly start from their cerement. , 



350 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

All the halo of rose-color seems now to light the future of the 
great discoverer." "' Yet this triumph is but a creation, as we 
have shown, of imaginative brains — the pageant never took 
place, and the arrival of Columbus at Barcelona was unnoticed 
bj the chroniclers of that city, who recorded events of trivial 
importance. 

Anon, we see Columbus aroused to " stern indignation at the 
capture of an Indian girl," which must cause those to smile who 
remember how often he " ordered some Indians to be taken," 
and who have marked his systematized efforts to establish a 
slave-trade. 

Nor can we pass over the injustice with which such men as 
Yespucci and Pinzon are made to play the satellite to the pau- 
per pirate. 

A wiser lesson might have been learned from Venice. In 
the grand hall, in the palace of the doges, many successive pan- 
els are filled with the portraits of doges who had reflected honor 
upon the " mistress of the seas," and had aided in making Yen- 
ice glorious. Over one, however, a dark veil is cast, and we 
read : " They did not place his portrait in the hall of the great 
council, but in the place where it should have been is the in- 
scription : *• Hie est locus Mariid Fallero decapitati pro crhninl- 
hus'' (This is the place of Marino Faliero, decapitated for his 
crimes)." "° 

O Yenice! O "Washington! IIow diverse are your stand- 
ards of legal and moral ethics ! For the same crime, one 
mounts the scaffold, another is placed among the gods. 

Nor does this brazen fiction " trammel up the consequences." 
The district in which the nation has reared its temple is humili- 
ated by an eftbrt to perpetuate the alias under which the pirati- 
cal Griego disappeared from the gaze of an injured people, while 
states and municipalities will obscure the name of America by 
planting X\x\^ parasite from sea to sea. 

When Europe, and Asia, and Africa, shall ask America how 
long she will continue thus to honor the man, who after having 
basely robbed the dead, falsely styled himself a discoverer, and 
enslaved his fellow, what ansicer shall she make? 

'"' See official descrii)tion, also chapter xiv. of this volume. 
>w Maria Sanuto, " Cronica," vol. xxii., p. 639. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

CHAiiACTER OF COLUMBUS. 



The character of Columbus, as portrayed by his actions, does 
not belie the impression given by his son's description of his per- 
sonal appearance. Hypocrisy is largely predominant ; to this 
revolting trait, to the shame of humanity be it said, he owes 



Slave-Auction. 



most of his fame, for the Church, charmed with the devotion he 
professed, has chanted his praises, and crushed any historian who 
would not join in them, as long as her power was sufficient. In 
our own day M. Eoselly de Lorgues writes an enthusiastic and 



352 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

ecstatic panegyric, in wliieli lie relieves himself of bis overbur- 
dening admiration by exclaiming, in Imge capitals, " CoLomus 
WAS A s^vint!" And even American writers would warn off, as 
from sacred precincts, the profane who, creeping around the idol, 
would sp3^ its feet of clay. 

This blind partiality is, as we have said, in great measure due 
to Columbus's professions of religious zeal. This " great navi- 
gator," who had spent all his life at sea, cannot, on entering 
upon his self-styled " holy mission," even speak in the language 
of seamen ; he discards all nautical parlance, substituting religious 
terms — "I sailed so many leagues between vespers and com- 
plines." lie sailed in the name of the Blessed Virgin, the Holy 
Trinity, and Jesus Christ. He commanded his ship, appropriate- 
ly (?) " clad in ah humble garb, resembling in form and color the 
habit of a Franciscan monk, simply girded with a cord, and suf- 
fered his beard to grow like the brethren of that order." Three 
times out of four, when lots are cast to decide who shall perform 
certain penance, by the skillful manij^ulation of a marked bean 
he causes the lot to fall miramloushj to him, " to show," his son 
modestly observes, " that his offerings were more, acceptable to 
God than those of others." 

All this religious affectation disgusts the truly reverent mind. 
Above all, when we find what atrocious acts were committed 
imder its protection, and how widely the actions of Columbus 
differed from his professions when he had attained his end, and 
was far from all who could bring him to ac30unt. 

On reaching the island of San Salvador, his first act was, we 
are told, to fall on his face and kiss the sand ; his next, to take 
possession for Castile ; his third, to make all swear allegiance to 
him as Viceroy of India. This done, he proceeded at leisure to 
capture the unoffending natives, and bear them into slavery. 
Years later, when his cruel government had driven Spaniards 
and natives alike to desperation, so that they sent across the 
ocean piteous appeals to be relieved from so merciless a tyrant, 
we find him accused of refusing to permit the baptism of these 
imfortunate Indians, for the welfare of whose souls he had pro- 
fessed such solicitude, because by embracing Christianity they 
exempted themselves from slavery, and could no longer minister 
to his love of gain. 

His son tells us : " He was so strict in religious matters, that, 



HYPOCRISY OF COLUMBUS. 



353 



for fasting and saying tlie divine offices, he might be thought 
professed in some rehgious order. So great was his aversion to 
swearing and cursing, that I protest I never heard him swear 
any other oath than by San Fernando, and when in the greatest 
passion with anybody he would vent his spleen by saying, ' God 
take you, for doing so and so.' When he was to write, his way 
of trying his pen was by writing the words ' Jesus cum Maria 
fit nobis in ma^'' and that in such a character as might very well 
serve to get his bread." 

The praises here given are somewhat equivocal. He does 
not say \\\^ father'' s life and acts were such as to render him a 




Columbus tries his Pen. 



bright example of goodness, but that, for -praying and fasting, 
he might be thought to belong to some holy order. In matters 
pertaining to religion both father and son seem to have de- 
pended more upon the form than the substance ; for reality and 
practical piety they substituted show and profession, and were 
far from conceiving the ideal of the poet who wrote : 

" He prayeth best who loveth best 
All creatures great and small, 
For the good God who loveth us, 
Hath made and loved them all.'" 



354 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 




,^ /iV/ -^w. 








y^^oiiK'tw 



^ 



Tac simile of the IIaxdwritisg and Signatcre of CoLrMiius.— (From his MSS. deposited at Genoa.) "• 

'•" The above specimen of this exquisite haiulwritlng would seem to suggest that copy- 
ists were at a premium. 



PROFANITY OF COLUMBUS. 355 

To try one's pen witli the words recorded by Fernando hardly 
suits the inspiration of genuine reverence, while the gentle oath, 
uttered with due vehemence, must have fully answered its pur- 
pose, and is vigorous enough to meet the requirements -of the 
modern Anglo-Saxon. 

From some such original as Columbus, Moliere must have 
draw his inimitable " Tartufe," who is disturbed by the sin of 
having caught a flea while at prayers, and dispatched him with 
anger; who advertises his wearing a hair shirt, and, withal, 
would rob his dupe of home, fortune, and honor. Does not the 
following seem strangely applicable to our hero ? 

" The profession of hypocrite has marvelous advantages. 
How many thus redeem the scandal of youth, and, sagely mak- 
ing a buckler and cloak of religion, indulge their favorite sins 
with impunity ! When found out, they are far from losing credit. 
A penitent air, a sigh of mortification, two turns of the eyes, and 
all goes on as before ! " 

^o character in history has more truly, or, as regards pos- 
terity, more successfully made a cloak of religion wherewith to 
hide an ungodly life, than did Christopher Columbus. But hy- 
pocrisy availed him less in his own day. He himself, as we 
have shown, bears witness to the depth of ignominy into which 
he had fallen in the estimation of his fellow-men. Throughout 
his history, by whomsoever recounted, distrust and aversion are 
traceable in those of every rank and degree who had dealings 
with him, from the sovereigns to the " graceless cook." 

Apparently no depravity could be attributed to him which 
was too gross for belief, and it was but natural and fitting that 
his ostentatious devotion and pious punctilio should augment 
the odium in which he was held, while the manner in which he 
represented himself as the chosen of God, the Christ-beaeek, 
and the familiar terms in which he speaks of the Deity, are re- 
volting in their blasphemy and hypocrisy. 

But the feature of his life which chiefly troubles his would-be 
canonizers is his private moral character, in which are many ugly 
flaws which they are anxious to conceal or explain. Among 
these is his open and notorious illicit amour with Beatrix Enri- 
quez of Cordova, which continued during a series of years. Of 
this there can be little doubt, notwithstanding the illogical and 
unsuccessful attempts of Messrs. De Lorgues and Cadoret to 



356 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

establish a marriage ; "* nor was it wortli their while to attempt a 
refutation of a so imiversally-accepted statement, even had they 
been more fortunate in their mode of treating the subject. Co- 
lumbus stands unanswerably convicted of many atrocious deeds 
beside which his illicit amours sink into insignificance. Why 
labor, then, to acquit him of an offense, wliile all the world is 
supposed to know that he was guilty of crimes ? Nor is it less 
absurd to allege that his being guilty of such an oft'ense would 
have called down upon him the indignation and censure of the 
Church, and the displeasure of Isabella. "Was it for the Church, 
at whosiB head was the licentious and intriguing Borgia (Alex- 
ander YI.), to reprove one of its minor devotees for such peca- 
dillos? Was it for Ferdinand, with his various mistresses 
and illegitimate children, or for his wife? Such an episode 
may rather have been supposed to his credit, and it is worse 
than futile to attempt to square his actions by any high moral 
standard. 

One of the arguments brought forward by M. Cadoret to 
prove that Beatrix was the wife, not the mistress, of Columbus, 
and which he appears to consider convincing, is, that neither Bo- 
badilla, Ovando, nor Fonseca, ever accused him of illicit connec- 
tions, and that they, as his enemies, would surely have done so 
had there been foundation for such an accusation. 

Not to repeat what we said above about the morals of the 
times, Bobadilla, Ovando, and Fonseca are reported, even by 
their enemies and detractors, to have been gentlemen by birth 
and breeding. The first two were sent to Ilispaniola to exam- 
ine into Columbus's conduct as governor, not into his private 
character. The third had the direction of financial matters con- 
cerning the islands, and his relations with Columbus did not 
extend beyond the functions of his office. The duties of all 
three only extended to his oflRcial career, and we may presume 
they neither troubled themselves about, nor would have had the 
indelicacy to force upon the public and crown, the details of his 
private life. 

The ftict that Columbus on his death-bed recommended Bea- 
trix to the care of his son Diego, and his seeming remorse at hav- 

"' A Life of Columbus, by the Abb6 Cadoret appeared in 18G9, and is, we be- 
liere, the latest efifort that has been made to prove a marriage between Beatrix and 
Columbus. 



COLUMBUS AND BEATRIX. 357 

ing neglected her, is also dwelt upon by M. Cadoret as proof of 
liis marriage to lier. 

" Neglect," lie says, " wlien capable of stirring the con- 
science, must necessarily have been practised toward a legiti- 
mate wife." "^ Thus we are taught that the man who leads an 
unfortunate woman to shame and ruin, begets children by her, 
and then abandons her to poverty and disgrace, need feel neither 
remorse nor qualms of conscience. The brutality of such a senti- 
ment need scarcely be dwelt upon, particularly as emanating 
from an avowed disciple of Him wdio said : " Neither do I con- 
demn thee ; go and sin no more." ^,. 

The denial of Columbus's illicit connection with Beatrix is 
of recent date, and has been set on foot by that school of the- 
ologians who desire his canonization. Heretofore his most ar- 
dent admirers, even ministers of the Church, have admitted it. 
Spotorno, considering it futile to deny, seeks to make it redound 
to the advantage of his hero. " In yielding to his passions," he 
writes, " our navigator showed that he was but a man. In 
avowing his fault he exhibited the sincerity of his religious 
faith." Father Spotorno did not foresee, when he wrote the 
above, that a school should arise among his brethren, whose 
object should be to prove that "our navigator " was more than a 
man 

Irving, that warmest and most eloquent advocate of Colum- 
bus, writes : 

" Though Columbus had now relinquished all expectations of 
patronage from the Castilian sovereigns, he' w^as unwilling to 
break off all connection with Spain. A tie of a tender nature 
still bound him to that country. During his first visit to Cor- 
dova, he had conceived a passion for a lady of that city, 
named Beatrix Enriquez. This attachment has been given as 
an additional cause of his lingering so long in Spain, and bear- 
ing with the delays he experienced. Like most of the particu- 
lars of this part of his life, his connection with this lady is 
wrapped in obscurity. It does not appear to have been sanc- 
tioned by marriage." "* 

Major, of the British Museum, asserts that, "but for an at- 
tachment which he (Columbus) had formed at Cordova, which 

'^3 Cadoret, " Yie de Christophe Colombe," appendice, p. 402. 
'^ Irving, " Columbus," book ii., chapter vi. 



358 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

made liim reluctant to leave Spain, he would, in all probability, 
have repaired to France.'" 

A thorough knowledge of the character of Columbus, as 
portrayed in his acts, and an observance of the motives which 
actuated him after the commencement of his voyages, render 
some such explanation as that given by Irving and Major neces- 
sary to account for his remaining in Spain. It goes far to throw 
light on dark places. We have already seen how the difficulties 
said to have been raised in opposition to his schemes have been 
grossly exaggerated, if not invented. The pecuniary outlay 
necessary for the execution of his project was eventually sup- 
plied by private individuals and by the little town of Palos, 
without difficulty. The delay, then, was not caused by any of 
the reasons generally given. How much more probable that 
Columbus, the unprincipled pirate, should have preferred for a 
time a life of easy dalliance at Cordova with Beatrix, supported 
by his friends Juan Perez and Pinzon ! "When wearied of it he 
closed his negotiations and proceeded on his voyage. 

There is much reason to believe that Columbus's private 
morals were impure. Ilis sickness and distemper, so often men- 
tioned, but so lightly dwelt upon by his biographers, were 
attended by such symptoms as to have led some to suppose that 
he was afflicted, not by the gout, but by that dreadful scourge 
which licentiousness has entailed upon man."' 

"^ Major, " Select Letters of Columbus," introduction, p. 52. 

166 Voltaire may have spoken, and probably did speak, figuratively, when he said : 
" So man is not bora wicked. How comes it, then, that so many are infected with the 
pestilence of wickedness ? It is because they who bear rule over them, having caught 
the distemper, communicate it to others ; as a woman, having the distemper which 
Christopher Columbus brought from America, has spread the venom all over Europe." 
But, however pertinent or impertinent to Columbus the above obscure allusion to him 
may have been, the great French philosopher was certainly mistaken in his assertion 
that the disease in question was of modern origin, or that it was brought to Europe 
from America, Mr. Prescott, in a foot-note, refers the curious on this subject to a 
work entitled " Lettere suUa Storia de' Mali Venerei, di Domenico Thiene, Yenezia, 
1823." " In this work," he says, " the author has assembled all the early notices of 
the disease of any authority, and discussed their import with great integrity and 
judgment. The following positions may be considered as established by his re- 
searches: 1. That neither Columbus nor his son, in their copious narratives and 
correspondence, allude, in any way, to the existence of such a disease in the New 
World. I must add," continues Mr. Prescott, " that an examination of the original 
document published by Navarrete since the date of Dr. Thicne's work, fully confirms 
this statement. 2. That among the frequent notices of the disease, during the 



SELF-AGGRANDIZEMENT HIS OBJECT. 359 

It is strange that historians should persist in representing 
Cohimbus to have been inspired by lofty and religious enthu- 
siasm when undertaking his voyage of so-called discovery. In 
view of the facts, can it really be supposed that it was devotion 

twenty-five years immediately following the discovery of America, there is not a 
single intimation of its having been brought from that country; but, on the con- 
trary, a uniform derivation of it from some other source, generally France. 3. That 
the disorder was known and circumstantially described previous to the expedition 
of Charles VIII., and, of course, could not have been introduced by the Spaniards 
in that way, as vulgarly supposed. 4. That various contemporary authors trace its 
existence, in a variety of countries, as far back as 1493 and the beginning of 1494, 
showing a rapidity and extent of diffusion perfectly irreconcilable with its importation 
by Columbus in 1493. 6. Lastly, that it was not till after the close of Ferdinand and 
Isabella's reigns that the first work appeared, affecting to trace the origin of the dis- 
ease to America." 

If the conclusions at vhich Mr. Prescott and Dr. Thiene have arrived, be correct, 
it is not certain that the authorities cited by them sustain their verdict. Fernando 
Columbus, who is represented'as silent upon this subject, says (" Historia del Ami- 
rante," chapter Ixxiv.): "The admiral being come to San Domingo .... found 
that abundance of those he had left were dead, and, of those that remained, above one 
hundred and sixty were sick of the French pox." 

In chapter Ixi. he also states that " it had pleased His Divine Majesty .... to send 
such scarcity of provisions and such violent diseases among them " (the natives) " that 
they were reduced to one-third of what they had been at first, to make it appear more 
plain that such miraculous victories, and the subduing of nations, are his right, and 
not the effect of our power or conduct." 

This loathsome visitation, in which Fernando professes to see the divine hand, 
appears to have formed a portion of the blessings borne by Columbus, certainly from 
Spain to Hlspaniola, or from Hispaniola to Spain, probably both; and one of the re- 
sults of his voyage was the conversion of Europe into a charnel-house, or vale of 
Hinnom, and the reduction of the population of the island to one-third of its former 
numbers. 

Upon this subject it may be well to consult the history of the period. Peter Martyr, 
alluding to the case noticed by Fernando at San Domingo, says : " Such as desired to be 
cured of the troublesome disease of the pox," used a decoction of guaiacan-wood, which 
remedy, he informs us, was soon employed in the treatment of patients in Europe, " to 
draw the unhappy disease out of the bones and marrow." So efficacious did the wood 
and bark of this tree prove, that the pious Spaniards, after having tested its virtues, 
named it " the holy tree.^^ Herrera would have us regard this disease as of American 
origin. Alluding to the case mentioned by Fernando and Peter Martyr, he says : 
" Provisions now growing very scarce, many of the Spaniards fell sick ; but, what was 
worse, by having to do with the Indian women, they contracted a distemper ccmmon 
enough among the natives, but altogether unknown to them (the Spaniards), which occa- 
sioned them to break out in blotches all over their bodies, of which many died, and 
others, thinking to be cured by change of air, returned to Spain, and spread the dis- 
temper there. However, it pleased God that the same place afforded the remedy aa 
gave the evil, for, some time after, an Indian woman, wife to a Spaniard, showed the 
use of the wood called guaiacan, which relieved them. This is the disease now com- 
monly known by the name of the French pox." — (Herrera, Decade I., book v., chapter v.) 
24 



360 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

to the Cliurcli, to Christianity, which made him haunt and im- 
portune the court of Spain for years ? AVas he, in truth, actu- 
ated by a noble desire to benefit a beni<i:hted portion of human- 
ty, or does he not rather appear to have been stimulated by 

In Rarausio's great work we find the following: "Your majesty may be assured that 
this sickness comes from the Indies, and is very common among the Indians ; but it is 
not as virulent in those parts as among us, so that the Indians cure themselves easily 
iu those islands with the wood (guaiacan), and in terra finna with herbs, or things 
they know of, for they are great herbalists. Tlic first time that this sickness iras seen in 
Spain was after Don Christopher Columbus had discovered the Indies and returned 
to these parts ; and some Christians that came with him, who had accom])anied him 
on his discovery, and those also who had gone with him on his second voyage, of 
whom there were many, brought over this sickness, and by them it was communicated 
to other persons. And in the year 1495, when the great captain, Don Gonsalvo Fer- 
rando, of Cordoba, passed into Italy with troops to support the King of Naples, Don 
Ferdinand the Younger, against the King of France, by command of the Catholic 
sovereigns, Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella of immortal memory, ancestors of your 
majesty, the sickness was brought over by some Spaniards, and that was the first 
time it was seen in Italy ; and, as this was the time when the French, with the afore- 
said King Charles, came into Italy, the Italians called the sickness French sickness, 
and the French called it Naples sickness, because they had never known it till this 
war, after which it was disseminated throughout Christendom, and passed into 
Africa." — (Rampsio, tome iii., p. 65.) 

Army surgeons, and those familiar with the rapid spread of this disease, especially 
when aided by camp-followers, will not, we think, regard the time intervening between 
the return of Columbus and the developments above noted as too brief for compass- 
ing the wide-spread ruin generally recorded of this period. 

Captain Jonathan Carver, in his account of travel in the Northwest, notices the 
successful manner in which the Indians residing in regions remote from civilization, 
treat this disease, displaying a skill evidently not acquired from contact with the 
white race. 

The disease in question is undoubtedly of far earlier origin than the advent of 
Columbus in the Western islands. Its presence may be traced to the most ancient 
times, in writings both sacred and profane. 

"His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the 
dust," saith Job. 

The Hindoo sacred writings, probably older than Job, contain evident allusions 
to this malady, among others the following: " Every man who has contracted disease 
from the use or abuse of women, shall be impure while it continues, and for ten days 
and ten nights after his restoration. . . . The mat of his bed is defiled, and must be 
burned. . , , The horse, the camel, the elephant, on which he may ride on pilgrim- 
ages, shall be impure, and shall be washed in water wherein is dissolved a sprig of 
cousa." 

We read in Herodotus that, after the Scythians had overrun Asia, and were 
advancing upon Egypt, Psammctichus met them in Palestine, and, by presents and 
entreaties, prevailed upon thom to return to their homes ; that tlue Scythians, on 
their homeward march, came to Ascalon ; that the greater part of their body passed 
through without molesting it, but that some remained behind and plundered the tem- 
ple of the Celestial Venus ; that " upon the Scythians who plundered this temple, 



AVARICE AND AMBITION OF COLCJMBUS. 361 

avarice, petty ambition, and vanity ? A perusal of the condi- 
tions lie laid down suffices to convince us tliat the latter was the 
case. He affects love for Christ, for the Blessed Yirffin. He 
would be the bearer of the Gospel to heathen nations, would 

find, indeed, upon all their posterity, the deity entailed a fearful punishment — they 
were afflicted with the female disease. The Scythians themselves confess that their 
countrymen suffered this malady in consequence of the above crime." It seems 
probable that the Scythians in question, not only plundered the temple of the god- 
dess, but received from her priestesses, whose lives were not the most chaste, the 
disease which thereafter afflicted them and their posterity. The fifteenth chapter of 
Leviticus contains instructions for cleanliness, evidently looking to this disease. 
The ordinance of circumcision is an ancient one, and was instituted to check its rav- 
ages. Herod of Judea died of it. Many references to ancient history might be 
made, tending to establish an antiquity much higher than that of the Spaniards in 
Hispaniola. In Europe its presence is traced as early at least as 1347. Jane I., 
Queen of the two SiciUes, ordered, in that year, that a public brothel be set up at 
Avignon, that the " wenches who played there " should be examined every Saturday 
by the abbess and a surgeon, " and if any of them had contracted any illness by 
their whoring, they should not be suffered to prostitute themselves, lest the youth 
who conversed with them should catch their distemper." Thus it appears that, more 
than a hundred years previous to the siege of Naples, in 1495, the date of the dissemina- 
tion of the venereal disease, as fixed by many authors, we find regulations for preventing 
its spread. It seems probable that the inhabitants of Hispaniola may, like those of 
the Old World, have engendered this scourge, but it did not originate with them. It 
is true that, shortly after the return of Columbus from his first voyage, Europe be- 
came one vast lazar-house. But this was owing, not to the introduction of a new 
disease, but to the increased virulence of one already known, conseqitent upon sexual 
intercourse between persons of diverse races, white and dark. The disease, which 
before had been curable when contracted between members of the Caucasian familv, 
when communicated by the Spaniards to the islanders of Hispaniola, and in a few 
days returned by the latter with interest, became, to the inhabitants of Europe, a new 
disease, which baffled the skill of the physician. Thus was inaugurated an " m-epres- 
sible conjlict," or war of races, by which some of the Western islands were nearly 
depopulated. Many are the conjectures and explanations as to the origin of this 
virus. Some attempt to account for it by the use of water from poisoned wells ; 
others, to lime mixed with the blood of diseased patients at the hospital of St. Laza- 
rus. Phioravanti says that, in 1456, during the war between Alfonso V. of Arragon, 
and John, Duke of Anjou, provisions becoming scarce in both camps, the purveyors 
privately cut up the bodies of the slain, and dressed and sold them to the men for 
food ; that, shoi'tly, those who thus ate, broke out in ulcers, and, in a word, had the 
venereal disease. The French named this the Neapolitan disease, because they had 
contracted it in the kingdom of Naples. The Spanish and Italians caUed it the 
French disease, which name it bears to this day in Africa and the Turkish Empire. 
Some writers pronounce this scourge to be a special judgment from God, as the pun- 
ishment of the wickedness of kings, priests, or people, as their pecuhar notions sug- 
gest. 

It is more reasonable, however, to suppose that, since the world began, the same 
disease has been a punishment for the transgression of the same laws {see Sanger on 
prostitution, and Ricord on venereal, for matter not here noticed). 



362 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

reclaim the Holy Sepulchre, annihilate the m^de\, provided the 
sovereigns will pay him well with offices, titles, riches, and hon- 
ors — without all these he refuses to become the messenger of 
Christ to the New World. "He 'would not abate one tittle of 
his princely exactions." The heathen might die unconverted, 
and their souls be eternally damned, unless he obtain all he 
asked, and his demands were most exorbitant. We cannot won- 
der that, when the sovereigns heard this remarkably disinterested 
otfer, it " caused them to smile " in mingled pity and contempt 
at the arrogance of the " pauper pilot," who proposed to raise a 
vast army at his own (or rather the sovereigns') expense, yet 
had not a maravedi wherewith to purchase a decent doublet to 
appear in their presence. 

And if religion had little to do with his undertaking, science 
had still less. IS^otwithstanding his boasted learning in all that 
pertains to geography, astronomy, navigation, the form and size 
of our planet (and he and his biographers certainly set up high 
claims), he stands before the world as a deliberate falsifier of the 
learning of his age, in order that he may appear wise at the 
expense of the truth of history ; and, nevertheless, succeeds in 
writing himself down most ignorant in the very sciences wherein 
he claims superhuman knowledge. We have seen his theory as 
to the earth's shape elsewhere. He \vrites : 

" I affirm that the globe is not spherical." 

And, to crown all his learned affirmations, he says : 

" The world is but small. Out of seven divisions, the dry 
part occupies six, and the seventh is entirely covered by water. 
Experience has shown it, and I have written it with quotations 
from the Holy Scripture." '" 

His theories on the compass are unique : 

"This morning," writes Fernando, "the Dutch compasses, 
varied, as they used to do, a point, and those of Genoa, that 
used to agree with them, varied but a very little ; but after- 
ward, sailing east, vary more, which is a sign we are one hun- 
dred leagues or more west of the Azores. ... 

" The Dutch needles varied a point, those of Genoa cutting 
the north-i5ole." 

These variations Columbus attributes to the " several sorts of 
loadstone the needles are made by, for, till they come just to 

'*' Letter to the sovereigns, July 7, 1503. 



HIS THEORY OF THE COMPASS. 363 

that longitude, they all varied a point, and there some held it ; 
and those of Genoa cut the north star." 

"I believe," continues this learned navigator, "the star 
(pole) has the quality of the four quarters, as has the needle, 
which, if touched to the east side, jpoints to the east, and so of the 
west and south', and, therefore, he that mahes the compass 
covers the loadstone with a cloth, all but the north part of it, 
viz., that which has the virtue to make steel point north." "* 

It would be difficult to imagine any thing more ambiguous 
and absurd than this affected science and real ignorance. This 
ignorance, which is so palpable to us, has not been so ignored 
by learned men as most biographers of Columbus would lead us 
to suppose. Las Casas calls him " an unlettered admiral." 
Humboldt says he was " a wholly unlettered seaman," and that 
" he was but little familiar with mathematics ; " that he "made 
false observations in the neighborhood of the Azores," and re- 
gards him as " in absolute want of a knowledge of natural his- 
tory." M. de Lorgues, a member of the Imperial Academy of 
Sciences, is " astonished at the ignorance of Columbus," and we 
have, on the same authority, that " several navigators of his 
time were regarded as his superiors in public opinion." 

It is amusing to observe how ingeniously the admirers of 
Columbus pass over some circumstances, conceal or distort 
others, that all things may work together to prove the greatness 
of their hero. "Witness the case of the two eclipses. The one 
he rightly predicts to the Indians is regarded as proof of his 
wonderful scientific knowledge ; the miscalculation of eighteen 
degrees he makes in computing the other, is ascribed to his 
incorrect " tables of eclipse." 

His biographers would have the world believe that his career 
of piracy was rendered reputable by reason of the alleged preva- 
lence of that crime — that it was a fashion into which Chinstian 
nations had fallen — and lead us to infer that it was a popular if 
not a commendable vocation. The error of such a conclusion is 
apparent. liienzi (the last of the tribunes) and the good people 
of his time were opposed to piracy, as Gibbon, in his " Decline 
and Fall of the Koman Empire," bears witness in the following 
relation : 

"Martin Ursini had pillaged a shipwrecked vessel at the 

168 (I Historia del Amirante," chapter Ixiii. 



36i LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

mouth of the Tiber. His name, the purple of the two cardinals 
(his uncles), a recent marriage, and a mortal disease, were dis- 
ivgarded by the inexorable tribune who had chosen his victim. 
The public officers dragged him from his palace and nuptial 
bed. His trial was short and satisfoctory. The bell of the Cajd- 
tol convened the people. Stripped of his mantle, on his knees, 
and his hands bound behind his back, he heard the sentence of 
death, and, after a short confession, Ursini was led away to the 
gallows. After such an example, none, who were conscious of 
guilt, could hope for impunity, and the flight of the wicked, the 
licentious, and the idle, soon purified the city and territory of 
Eome. . . . At this time," the historian tells us, "i?o?/^<?^^«6*6■^^7Z 
the metroj)olis of the Christian world. ^^ 

If such were the punishment incurred by one who had plun- 
dered an abandoned vessel, what should have been visited upon 
the plunderer of the Flanders galleys, the slaughterer of their 
crews, who had been guilty of numy former ])iratical crimes 'i 

How can we expect to read the truth regarding a man whose 
faults, ignorance, and crimes, are thus dealt with 'i After encoun- 
tering many of these inconsistencies (and they abound in the 
various histories of the man) we naturally lose confidence in all 
the statements, particularly of a laudatory character, which these 
too partial historians have made. 

What did Columbus originate, save fiction ? Certainly not 
the idea of a western passage to India, for Fernando tells us 
that '* the second motive that encouraged the admiral .... was 
the great authority of learned men who said that it was possible 
to sail from the western coast of Africa and Spain, westward, to 
the eastern bounds of India,"' and much more to the same pur- 
pose. 

The form and size of the earth, the proportions of land and 
water of which it is composed, were earlier known and better 
understood by others than by himself; nor did he, we have 
shown, discover the variations of the magnetic needle. Most 
assuredly he did not discover America, or the islands adjacent 
thereto, as we have already made manifest by relating the cir- 
cumstances which put him in possession of the fact that lands 
lay at such a distance to the west. 

Gain was his great object, love of gold, not science or reli- 

169 1( Uigtoria iIlI Aniiraiitc," chapter vii. 



COLUMBUS WOULD PURCHASE PAEADISE. 365 

gion, his motive power. Gold was his god ; to acquire riches 
he became a ])ivate and a slave-dealer^ and the same desire 
prompted him to profess religion, attend mass, and repeat all the 
canonical hours — these were but baits wherewith he sought to 
catch the precious metal. He affects to believe that with gold 
he may purchase even the kingdom of heaven. He writes to 
the sovereigns : 

" Gold is the most precious of all commodities ; gold consti- 
tutes treasure, and he who possesses it has all he needs in this 
worlds as also the means of rescuing souls from purgatory and 
restoring them to the enjoyments of paradise." 

"We do not wonder at the crimes of the man who propounds 
such a doctrine. Inordinate love of gold will surely steel the 
heart to all the noble impulses of humanity, but we must won- 
der that such a man should be admired and lauded ; above all, 
that he should become a candidate for canonization. 

His whole conduct relative to his "great and glorious under- 
taking " was deceit : he traded upon information received from 
one who could no longer assert his claims, and extorted the 
most extravagant rewards as the price of revealing such informa- 
tion. 

The eulogists of Columbus, perceiving how obstinately he 
persisted in asserting that he had visited Asia, and desiring to 
prove him honest, even if ignorant, say that he died in the per- 
suasion that he really had reached Asiatic India. His son, how- 
ever, never supposed such to be the case, but that, " because he 
knew all men were sensible of the riches and wealth of India, 
therefore by that name he sought to tempt their Catholic majes- 
ties, by telling them he went to discover India by way of the 
West." This statement is apparently truthful. Columbus pro- 
fessed to be sailing to Asia to pour its wealth into the coffers of 
Spain ; and what merchandise did he take with him to exchange 
for the precious wares of the richest lands of the earth ? Glass 
beads ! Hawk-bells ! Trifles it would be an insult to ofler any 
but the most primitive races. It must be evident to every re- 
flective mind that such worthless baubles were never intended to 
be the medium of trade and barter wnth the enlightened mer- 
chants of the East. The idea is preposterous, and the fact that 
Columbus supplied himself with them shows plainly that he had 
not only been informed of the location of the islands he pro- 



366 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

fessed to discover, but also of the nature of their inhabitants. He 
availed himself of the protection and treasure of Spain and the 
Pinzons, avowedly that he might sail to India by a western pas- 
sage, an idea which had been popular with the Portuguese for 
many years, but with the real object of reaching lands in the 
"West, of the existence and situation of which he had perfect 
knowledge, 

lie would have been more than ordinarily ignorant not to 
have known that the latitude and longitude of the Canaries, or 
Fortunate Islands, as well as of the port in India to which he 
professed to be sailing, had been determined many centuries, 
and that, therefore, seven hiindred and fifty leagues west of the 
former could not bring him to India beyond the Ganges. That 
he desired others to think this is, however, evident, from the 
shameful oath he required his men to take in the island of Cu- 
ba. Moreover, in his letter to his son Diego, in which he urges 
the latter to profit by the influence of Amerigo Vespucci at 
court, after enjoining secrecy, he says, "Let his majesty be- 
lieve that his ships were in the richest and best parts of the 
Indies." This information, which appears to us fully to reveal 
the systematic deceit of Columbus, has been considerably soft- 
ened by the English translators of his letter. They render 
"crea su majestad, let his majesty believe" {c7'ea being the im- 
perative of the verb), by the words "his majesty helieveSj^ 
which renders the phrase more ambiguous, and the fraud en- 
joined not so palpable. 

The deceitful and treacherous acts of Columbus pervade his 
whole career. His contemporaries rarely gave credence to his 
statements, and he himself did not expect to be believed by those 
who knew him well, as is made manifest by the swinish evidence 
of his veracity which he thought necessary to send his men in 
Jamaica. Kor is this incredulity to be wondered at when we 
reflect upon the absurdity of many of his assertions. He laid 
claim to supernatural powers, and professed to believe in sorcery : 

" In Cariari and the neighboring country there arc great en- 
chanters of a very fearful character." 

His son tells us the Porrascs persuaded their followers in 
Jamaica that " the coming of the caravel with news of Diego 
Mendez might make no impression on them. They intimated 
to them that it was no true caravel, but a phantom made by art- 



COLUMBUS A MAGICIAN. 



J67 



magic, the admiral being very skillful in that art."" We need 
not dwell upon the lack of dignity which Columbus's claim to 
such a knowledge makes evident. 

The two prevailing traits of his character, hypocrisy and de- 
ceit, rarely, if ever, exist without their accompanying vices, 
cowardice and cruelty ; and he is no exception to the rule, as 
the shocking cruelty with which he murdered Moxico and en- 
slaved the Indians, the perfidy which he displayed in the capture 
of the chief Caonabo, with many other of his acts, will prove, 
while his quailing before Eoldan — conferring upon him office, 




Conversion of the HEATHEN.-(From De Bry's Las Casas.) 

lands, slaves, and other property, giving him certificates of good 
character and conduct, while secretly traducing him to the sover- 
eigns—leaves no doubt of his cowardice. 

Humanity stands appalled at his frightful manifestations of 
cruelty, even as they are faintly portraved by his too partial 
biographers. That delight in blood and thirst for gain which led 
him to embrace the life of a pirate and slave-catcher for the first 
fitty or sixty years of his life, did not abandon him when he as- 
sumed the mission of Christ-bearer. 

"'" " nistoria del Amirante," chapter cvi. 



368 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



If we need proof of this let us picture to ourselves, for a 
momeut, those beautiful islands, their glowing vegetation and 
balmv climate, as first seen by Columbus. The peaceful and 
iiiuoccnt inhabitants received him M'itli childlike wonder and 
noble hos})itality, imagining, alas ! that those white-winded ships 
bore messengers from the skies. They eagerly tendered gifts, 
among which were the little ornaments of gold which were to be 
the cause of all their misery ; for no sooner did the eyes of Co- 
lumbus rest upon them, than he formed extravagant ideas of the 
riches he was to acquire without labor. Let us turn our eyes, 




Conversion of toe IlEATip:N.— (From Do l!i v".s L.is Casus.) 

then, upon these same beautiful islands when this blood-thirsty 
pirate, who blasphemously assumed the name of " Christ- 
bearer," had sown desolation among them ; when the shrieks of 
the tortured, the groans of the captives who labor unceasingly, 
the cries of women and maidens whom husbands and fathers 
dare no huiger protect, resound within their once peaceful shores ; 
when he whom they had supposed a messenger from heaven, 
has brought among them the miseries of hell ; and, as we mark 
the contrast, and remember how all this cruelty is wrought in 
the name of religion, the man Columbus inspires us with such 
horror and disgust that we are amazed there should exist histo- 



NATIVES SORELY OPPRESSED. 



369- 



rians who cry out with pity and indignation when he is sent 
from the scenes of his crimes in chains, yet find neither pity nor 
indio-nation for his thousand victims whose chains had been their 



least sufterings 



Let us remember, too, tliat, of the people whom he thus tor- 
tured and enslaved, Columbus had once written : 

" So loving, so tractable, so peaceful are these people that I 
swear to your majesties there is not in the world a better na- 




" Now (the captive cazique) being bound to the post, in order to his execution, a certain holy monk, 
of the Franciscan order, discoursed with him concerning God and the articles of our faith, . . . 
promising him eternal glory and repose if he truly believed them, or otherwise everlasting tor- 
ments. After that Hathney had been silently pensive some time, he asked the monk whether 
the Spaniards also were admitted to heaven, and he answering that the gates of heaven were 
open to all that were good and godly, the cazique replied, without further consideration, that he 
would rather go to hell than heaven, for fear he should associate in the same mansion with so san- 
guinary a nation."— (La3 Casas, " Crudelitates Ilispanorum.") 

tion. They love their neighbors as themselves, their discourse is 
ever sweet and gentle, and, though it is true they are naked, yet 
their manners are decorous and praiseworthy." 

There are natures whose foults we admit, but whose noble 
qualities outbalance those faults — whose very failings seem to 
render them more attractive, as being rather noble excesses than 
defects. Truly great and noble men are often assailed by the 



370 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



public, and condemned by party-spirit ; but we always find that 
those who were nearest them, seeing them daily in familiar in- 
tercourse, were devoted and admiring, alike through prosperity 
and adversity. Thus the weeping followers of the great Napo- 
leon are proud to share his dreary exile on the lonely rock of 
St. Helena ; but how difierent is the case with Columbus ! 
Those who knew him the most intimately, despised him the 
most openly and cordially. We do not find that he stood nobly 
by one friend, or indeed that he ever entertained such a noble 
feeling as friendship. When he had obtained all that was possi- 
ble from those who befriended him, they were recpiited by gross 
ingratitude or forgetfulness, Pinzon, who was the first to pro- 
tect him, he repaid so cruelly as to cause that noble man to 
die broken-hearted. Diego Mendez, who saved his life in Ja- 
maica, received, as reward, promises that were never fulfilled. 
The long list of those who associated with him in the islands 
is but a long list of quarrels. We look in vain through his 
life for any trait or action that would endear him to the hearts 
of men, for one deed that may be regarded as the impulse of 
a great and noble mind or generous heart ; we find nothing 
but low cmming, arrogance, avarice, religious cant, deceit, and 
cruelty. 




TuE Heathen Converted.— (From Philopono, " Nova Typis," etc., 1C21.) 



CHAPTEE XXX. 

LAWSUIT OF TUE HEIES OF COLUIVIBUS WITH THE CROWN. 

As we have so repeatedly declared that not only did Colum- 
bus forfeit his right to the titles of viceroy, admiral, etc., by his 
own misconduct, but that the sovereigns were powerless to con- 
fer upon him such rank and titles in perpetuity, it may be well 
to note the events which took place touching his claim after 
his death. 




CnEiSTOPnEE Columbus.— (From an Italian Work.) 

The importance of his negotiations and controversies with 
the sovereigns has been very much magnified ; these controversies 
were the legitimate fruits of the ill-advised and illegal bargain- 
ing we have already recorded as taking place between Isabella 
and Columbus. The latter appears to have been as ignorant in 
law as in other matters ; he had a wholesome dread of lawyers, 
and seems to have believed that, whatever he should succeed in 



372 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

insertino^ in liis contract with the queen, would be valid. He 
was confident that the sovereii^ns had power, not only to put 
value upon base metal, but, as an old book hath it, " to ^ive 
estimation to a mean person, by conferring upon him a mark of 
honor and dignity." "' 

Had his wisdom predominated over his avarice, he would 
have asked such reasonable compensation and reward as his 
services might merit, and the crown might legally promise. 
Such a contract could have been enforced by the courts of law, 
but such was not the character of the one in question. There 
can be little doubt that Columbus too late discovered the invalid 
character of his claim. \Ve have seen how unwilling he was to 
have any but himself declare its import ; he would not even sub- 
mit the question to his tried friend, the Eishop of Palencia. 
The lameness of the subterfuge with which, after consenting to 
arbitration and selecting the arbiter, he finally declared that it 
was only the question of revenue '" he was willing to submit to 
the decision of the latter, leaves little doubt as to the merits of 
the case, particularly when we find Ferdinand, though well 
aware of the friendship existing between the bishop and Colum- 
bus, cheerfully consenting to abide by his decision. 

It is diflicult to ascertain upon what basis Columbus expected 
the question of revenue to be decided. It depended upon the 
validity of the original contract ; if that were void, no rents were 
due — but it is vain to seek logic, law, or reason, in his demands ; 
no attention was paid to them during his lifetime, no deference 
shown to his opinions ; new instructions were sent to Ovando, 
of which he was kept in ignorance. At one time, his claims 
were referred to the council for the discharge of the qveenh 
conscience. This junta seems to have consulted, but no action 
was taken ; it could hardly discharge the conscience of the de- 

i^> Brydall, " Law of Xobility and Gentry," 1675, p. 58. 

"^ Las Casas would excuse or explain the conduct of Columbus in this wise : " By 
which I understand that he did not think it necessary to put the latter point " (his titles) 
" in dispute, his right to it being clearly manifest." We fear that the logic of the Bishop 
of Chiapa is here somewhat on a par with that of Columbus, when we reflect that he 
comes to this conclusion well knowing that the latter had for years annoyed the 
court, by incessant application in person and by letter, for the recognition of his so- 
called rights, and that the crown had as constantly refused to reinstate him. In other 
words, we are called upon to believe that Columbus regarded a matter as beyond dis- 
pute which had been repeatedly decided against him, which decision he sought to 
reverse. 



DIEGO COLUMBUS SUES THE CKOWK 373 

fiinct sovereign by reversing her judgment, and placing in power 
a man who had rebelled against her authority. 

But, not only does it appear that Columbus's claims were 
unjustifiable — the contract on wdiich they were based illegal — 
it is also evident that, admitting it to be just and valid, he had 
failed to perform Avhat had been stipulated as its basis ; had 
acted upon false pretenses ; had traded upon knowledge received 
from the dead pilot ; and had, moreover, so misconducted him- 
self, that to intrust him with power or government would be 
a gross injustice to the people over whom he should be placed. 

Notwithstanding these facts, after his death, his son Diego 
presented himself as heir-apparent to the honors from which his 
father had been deposed, and for two years preferred his claims 
without avail. In 1508, he resolved to enter upon a proceeding 
from which his father shrank, and declared to be " a controversy 
with the wind ; " namely, to endeavor to establish his claim by 
law. 

He therefore summoned King Ferdinand to appear before 
the Council of the Indies, and show cause why he, the said Die- 
go, should not be inducted into the offices and honors from which 
his father had been ejected. We have not been able to learn 
that this body possessed judicial powers — we believe it did not ; 
certainly it could not legally try the most important suit " the 
world has ever witnessed," as too partial historians are wont to 
term it. The crown, however, appears to have waived the ques- 
tion of jurisdiction, and to have consented to plead to the merits 
of the case, even before an inferior commission. 

The royal plea appears to have been in itself sufficient to 
determine the case against Columbus in any court of law or 
equity. It was as follows : 

1. That, if the contract of 1492 purported to grant to Colum- 
bus, or his heirs, the viceroyalty and admiralty in perpetuity, 
such grant was void, being hostile to the best interests of the 
state, and in violation of a solemn statute enacted and promul- 
gated at Toledo in I-ISO, wherein it was ordained that no office 
involving the administration of justice should be granted in per- 
petuity ; therefore, that these powers and privileges could only 
be granted to Columbus during his lifetime, and had been most 
justly taken from him during that period on account of his cru- 
elty and disloyalty. 



374 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

2. That sucli grants -were contrary to, and in excess of, the 
inherent prerogative of the crown, and subversive of the rights 
of the Cortes and peoj^le, of which the latter could not be di- 
vested.'" 

This royal plea appears to strike at the root of the matter, 
and to have been unanswerable. In it the acts of the crown are 
subjected to the solemn test of the law, and Ferdinand declares 
the act of the late queen to be void in the eye of the law. 

To this Diego made replication that " the contract was bind- 
ing," but cited neither law nor precedent by which to sustain his 
replication, for the reason, we suppose, that none existed. "As 
to the allegation that his father had been deprived of his vice- 
royalty for his demerits, it was false, and his being sent from the 
islands by Bobadilla was audacious." Such is his extremely legal 
and forcible response, a somewhat "audacious" one, as it will 
be remembered that Bobadilla had performed no acts for which 
he had not royal authority, and that his conduct had been tacitly 
approved by Isabella, as she neither reinstated Columbus in 
power, nor consented that he should return to Hispaniola. 

It needs no very expert lawyer to perceive that such a repli- 
cation could not have the least weight in a legal decision, as it 
was not sustained by judicial authority ; while the plea of the 
crown was unanswerable, because founded upon the sujyreme law 
of the land. 

Another question, however, was agitating the public mind, 
and seemed to strike at the rights of Spain. It was very gener- 
ally asserted that Columbus had not been the first to discover 
these lands : contemporary writers not only claimed this honor 
for living navigators, but actively revived the memory of the dead 
pilot.^''* These assertions, if proved correct, would have made 
manifest the fact that Spain had obtained the lands by fraud, 
and that Alexander YI. had granted the deed, and drawn the 
famous line of demarcation on the false testimony of Columhus. 

The crown, perfectly secure against the claims of Diego, on 
the strength of the above plea, wisely considered it to her inter- 
ests that the latter should make out a case, which, while securing 
to Spain all the advantages accruing from the folsehoods and 

"' Ferdinand had, moreover, been required to take the royal oatli whicii forbade 
him to nominate a foreigner to office. 

"■' Spotorno, " Historia Memoria," p. 29 ; Irving, Appendix No. 2. 



TESTIMONY IN THE CASE. 375 

treachery of Columbus, could not materially benefit his heirs. 
For this, Ferdinand considered the present a fit opportunity, 
and, while largely interested in Columbus's being proclaimed the 
original discoverer, he asserts that he was not, in order to enable 
Diego to prove that he was. 

About one hundred witnesses were examined. The final 
decision was in favor of Columbus, the testimony being, accord- 
ing to most historians, "overwhelmingly in his favor." We 
may, however, be permitted to doubt the truth of this assertion, 
notwithstanding the ultimate decision, which was, as we have 
said, in accordance with the real wishes of Ferdinand. 

We have not, like Mr. Irving, had the advantage of examin- 
ing the original documents of this suit. It may, however, be 
presumed that Navarrete, whose " Coleccion Diplomatica " of all 
papers relating to the discoveries, was made with the avowed 
object of still further establishing the glory of Columbus, has 
given a tolerably complete i^eswrne of the testimony, and that, 
if any hiatus exists, it is not the result of the omission of 
any thing favorable to the cause of the latter. This testimony 
we have carefully examined, and cannot agree with those histo- 
rians who declare it to be " overwhelmingly in favor of Colum- 
bus." Notwithstanding their assertion, and the ultimate decision 
by the Council of the Indies in favor of his son, we rather re- 
gard it as proving how small a part of the glory or merits of the 
enterprise he was entitled to. Ko history written in the Enoj- 
lish langunge has heretofore considered it necessary to give this 
testimony to the public — the eulogists of Columbus wisely con- 
sidered it could not but be detrimental to his cause in the eyes 
of an intelligent reader. They have, therefore, contented them- 
selves with recording their perusal of it, and declaring it to be 
overwhelmingly in favor of their hero. 

While the testimony taken by the fiscal (an oJBBcer who ap- 
pears to have occupied a position combining the duties of an 
attorney-general and solicitor of the treasury) is pertinent, am- 
ple, and circumstantial, much of it tending to completely over- 
turn the popular belief with regard to Columbus, the testi- 
mony on the part of Diego is as vague, irrelevant, and imperti- 
nent, as are his interrogatories. The witnesses examined for the 
crown are also men of some status, testifying to what they have 

seen and know ; while those examined for Diego are, with one or 
25 



376 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

two exceptions, ignorant men, wlio generally testify to what they 
have heard said. The important parts, indeed nearly the whole 
of this testimony, has been disregarded, either by accident or 
design, by the mass of historians, which leads ns to suppose that 
their partiality is not altogether unwitting. 

We have said the crown was most desirous (even at the sac- 
rifice of being ajy^arently defeated by a subject) to have the 
claims of Columbus, as prior discoverer, established. There is 
one circumstance connected with this lawsuit which strongly 
supports our statement. Yespucci, the learned cosmographer 
and navigator, the one man who could best have shattered Co- 
lumbus's pretensions to having been the first to visit terra Jirma, 
was not summoned as a witness, when sailors before the mast, 
and ignorant men, were made to testify. The malign ers^f 
Yespucci seek to prove by this that he was little thought of ; 
that the idea of his being the first to reach America was too pre- 
posterous to have been entertained ; for, say they, had he been the 
discoverer, had the voyages he relates in his letters been really 
made, the crown, so largely interested in disproving Columbus's 
claims, would have called him as a witness. This reasoning is, 
however, erroneous ; it assumes the crown to have been, in 
truth, interested in, and desirous of, annihilating the claims of 
Columbus. This was evidently not the case, for Amerigo was 
not examined, and the omission to do so was not owing to 
his being considered of too little importance, or to the knowl- 
edge or belief that he had not visited terra jinna before Colum- 
bus ; for he was, at that time, filling a most important ofiiee in 
recognition of the services he had rendered during his voyages: 
he had been appointed, not only survey or- general of coasts in 
the new lands, but inspector and corrector of charts ; all for- 
mer charts had been cibolished (Columbus's among the number), 
and a penalty imposed upon pilots sailing by any others than 
those made or authorized by Yespucci. This auiply proves, not 
only the esteem in which his maritime knowledge and experi- 
ence were held, but also that the counsel for the crown would 
not have overlooked him, had the latter been in truth anxious 
to overthrow the claims of Columbus ; and that^ the forgetful- 
ness was, therefore, intentional. 

In view of these facts, and as a sample of the pertinence and 
validitv of the testimonv in fovor of Columbus, we mav cite 



ABILITY OF MAETIX ALONZO PINZON. 377 

that of Francisco Morales, styled by Irving " one of the best 
and most creditable of all the pilots," who, notwithstanding 
what we have alread}^ stated as to charts of the new lands, and 
Yespncci's supervision of them, testified that he had seen a sea- 
chart, made by Columbus, of the coast of Paria, and " he Relieved 
all governed tliemselmes hy It^ 

The testimony taken by \h.Q, fiscal is extremely interesting — 
it gives us an insight into the opinions entertained of Columbus 
and other voyagers by the people who sailed with them ; it 
brings forward, in bold relief, the noble qualities of that gener- 
ous victim of Columbus's ingratitude and avarice, Martin Alonzo 
Pinzon ; it is from this source that we learn to what an extent 
Columbus was indebted to him ; we find here a corroboration of 
toe story of the dead ^yilot, and proof that Columhus sailed hj a 
chart in which a certain route was laid down, Qiot on a voyage of 
discovery^ the results of which were vague and uncertain ; we 
also learn how unjustly the mariner, Roderigo de Triana, who 
first sighted land, was deprived of his reward. 

All this is related in the most circumstantial manner by the 
various witnesses, who, as they relate minute occurrences, repeat 
portions of conversation, give a life-like and truthful coloring to 
their testimony, while the witnesses for Diego, with a few ex- 
ceptions, merely afiirm or deny in general terms, as his inter- 
ests demand. As examples of interest, we may take the follow- 
ing: 

Fourteenth interrogatory for the crown, which requires the 
witnesses to afiarm or deny " whether they know that, after go- 
ing to court, the admiral returned to Palos, where he found 
none who would give him ships, nor crews who would accom- 
pany him, and that the said Martin Alonzo, to serve their high- 
nesses, gave him his two ships, and determined to go with him, 
with his relations and friends, because the said admiral promised 
him the half of all the privileges that their highnesses had prom- 
ised if land were found, and had shown him the said privileges." 

Eight witnesses testify to a knowledge of the above facts. 
A fair sample of all the testimony is that of Diego Penton, who 
testifies that "he knows the above, because he saw and was pres- 
ent ; but whether Martin Alonzo gave his ships, because the ad- 
miral showed his privileges, this witness knows not, for he saw 
them go on the voyage, and knows that the said Martin Alonzo 



378 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

Pinzon went witli tlie said admiral, and this he kno^vs, that, but 
for him, the said admiral had not gone then to discover." 

The fifteenth interrogatory requires the witnesses to testify 
whether they know that on the voyage the admiral, not finding 
land where he had expected, asked Martin Alonzo what they 
should do. 

Twelve witnesses testify more or less minutely to the points 
made in this interrogatory. Francisco Vallejo says that, "being 
two hundred leagues, more or less, distant from land, after leav- 
ing the Canaries, the Admiral Don Cristobal Colon spoke M-ith 
all the captains, and with the said Martin Alonzo, and said to 
them, ' What shall we do ? ' This was on the 6th of October, 
of the year '92, and said : ' Captains, what shall we do, for my 
people complain bitterly ? What do you advise ? ' And that 
then Yincent Yanez said : ' Let us go forvrard, sir, two thousand 
leagues, and, if then we find not what we are in search of, we 
may return.' Then said Martin Alonzo Pinzon, icho went as 
chief captain : ' How, sir ? We have but just left the to-svn of 
Palos, and already you are discouraged! Forward, sir! God 
will give us victory ! God forbid that we should return Mith 
such shame ! ' Then answered the said admiral, Don Christo- 
pher Columbus, ' May good fortune attend you ! ' And thus, 
through the said Martin Alonzo Pinzon, they went forward." 

The seventeenth interrogatory requires the witness to testify 
" whether the said admiral asked Martin Alonzo whether they 
were pursuing a right course, and that the said Martin Alonzo 
said nOf' that he had many times told him that they were not 
going right, but that they should tack to the southwest, and 
would then find the land ; and that the said admiral ansAvcred, 
' Let us do so ! ' and that they then changed the course, by the 
advice of Martin Alonzo Pinzon, who was a man very learned 
in matters pertaining to the sea." 

Of ten witnesses who testify to the above, the most succinct 
is Francis Garcia Yallejo, who says that " he was present and 
heard Martin Alonzo Pinzon say to the said admiral on this voy- 
age, ' Sir, in my opinion, we should steer to the southwest ; we 
shall then find land' — that the said Admiral Don Christopher 
Columbus answered : ' Let it be so, Martin Alonzo ; let us do 
so ' — and that then, by the advice of Martin Alonzo, they 
changed the course to the southwest ; and he knows it was by 



CASE DETERMINED AGAINST THE CEOWK 379 

the advice and industry of tlie said Martin Alonzo, because lie 
was a man very learned in sea-matters ; and all this he knows 
because he was present." 

Again, it is proved by answers to the eighteenth interroga- 
tory that, three or four days after the said change of course di- 
rected by Martin Alonzo, the island of Gnanahani was reached. 
To this fifteen witnesses testify. 

Nor do we fail to find, in the testimony of this lawsuit, evi- 
dence of the petty spite to which Columbus could descend. It 
is therein asserted that, Martin Alonzo having given his name 
to a river in Hispaniola, " the admiral changed the name of 
the said river and port, because the said Martin Alonzo had 
discovered it, and that there might remain no remembrance 
of him ; nor would he allow any of his crew to call the port 
Martin Alonzo, but Puerto de Gracio, that there might be 
no memorial of Martin Alonzo, discoverer of the island of His- 
paniola." 

The extracts we have given are samples of the general char- 
acter of the testimony, as the reader may ascertain by a perusal 
of the whole, as contained in Navarrete. 

The Council of the Indies, however, decided the case in favor 
of Diego ; but were the results such as would have accrued had 
the decision been given by a court of law powerful against, as well 
as for, the crown 'i In other words, were they such as to lead us to 
suppose the decision had been given, in spite of the prestige and 
power of the sovereign, by a court able to enforce the execution of 
its decrees ? They were not. The Council of the Indies decided 
that Columbus was the first discoverer. This legalized and set 
at rest the claim of Spain to the lands said to have been dis- 
covered, but the plaintift' was in no wise benefited by the deci- 
sion in his favor — he still continued penniless, still importuned 
humbly and in vain ; he was neither recognized viceroy, nor did 
he touch any of the revenue, nor enter into any of the oflices 
which would have been his, maugre any resistance on the part 
of Ferdinand, had his lawsuit been a valid one. 

It was to a totally difierent cause that he owed the final rec- 
ognition of his claims — he married into the family of Alva. The 
members of this proud house were powerful as proud, and, 
through their influence, the much-coveted titles of viceroy and 
admiral were accorded to the husband of their kinswoman ; but 



380 LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 

tliese titles were shorn of any thing approaching the power they 
would seem to imj)ly. 

Ovando was recalled, and Diego and his wife, his half- 
brother Fernando, and his uncles Bartholomew and Diego, set 
s:iil for the new lands in 1509. The prestige of the lady's high 
hirtli and influential friends surrounded them with a numerous 
retinue, composed largely of young damsels, who, j^ossessed of 
more rank than fortune, were about to seek rich husbands in the 
Western islands. 

Diego appears to have inherited his father's quarrelsome and 
tyrannous disposition. His administration, restricted as was 
his power, soon became oppressive and odious, so that, within a 
few months of his arrival, a tribunal (entitled the Koyal Audi- 
ence) was established, to which appeals from the government 
might be taken. 

Diego, autocratic and unreasonable, resented this as an 
infringement upon his rights. He became involved in law- 
suit after lawsuit with the fiscal, so that Herrera declares 
" he might truly say he was heir to the troubles of his fath- 
er," to which may be added that he was no less an heir to 
those vices of his father of which the troubles were a natural 
consequence. 

At length the difiiculties became so serious that Diego asked 
leave to appear at court and defend himself. His request was 
granted, and in 1515 he returned to Spain, where he remained 
five years, at the end of which time he was again allowed to re- 
turn to the islands ; but he had not been long at the head of 
atiairs when he was charged with a design to usurp the gov- 
ernment and throw oft' allegiance to Spain — a charge which 
aj^pears to have been sufiiciently well founded for the Council 
of the Indies to consider it necessary, not only severely to repri- 
mand him, but also to command him, under penalty of forfeiting 
all his privileges, to place matters of government as they were; 
under Ovando. This order was to be proclaimed and enforced 
by oflicers of the crown, in the island, even though Diego should 
refuse to regard it. The latter was ordered home to give an 
account of his stewardship. Regarding the recall as peremptory, 
he obeyed, and remained in Spain, Avliere, till his death, in 
1526, he wearied the court with requests similar to those of his 
father, and for like reasons as fruitless. 



TIME, m THE MAIN, JUST. 381 

His infant son Luis, aged six years, was declared Admiral of 
the Indies. This lad, on reaching the age of reason, appears to 
have had more good sense and a truer perception of the state of 
affairs, and the legitimate extent of his claims, than his progeni- 
tors. He wisely gave up all pretensions to viceroyalty and rev- 
enue, and remained in Spain, receiving in lieu of these the title 
of Duke of Yeragua and Marquis of Jamaica, with a pension 
of a thousand doubloons of gold. He died leaving no legiti- 
mate issue, and henceforth the Columbos are engaged in litiga- 
tion among themselves, till, in 1608, the Council of the Indies 
declared the male line to be extinct, and ^uno or l^ugno Gelves 
de Portogallo, grandson of Isabella, third daughter of Diego, son 
of Christopher Columbus, was invested with the titles and pen- 
sion aforesaid. 

Thus, Time, which is, in the main, just, settled at last the 
question which had so vexed the pirate admiral during his brief 
day, in a manner somewhat compatible with its merits. Had 
Columbus, in the inception, stipulated for possibilities, the valid- 
ity of his contract would probably never have been cjuestioned ; 
he would not have sunk to the depth of misery and degradation 
in which death overtook him, nor would an enthusiastic throng 
of eulogists have been called upon to place him among the noble 
army of martyrs. Yet, as he deceitfully took advantage of the 
information received or purloined from the unfortunate pilot 
who died in his house at Madeira ; as he took to himself all the 
merit and honors of the enterprise, recognizing and acknowl- 
edging neither the source of his knowledge nor the assist- 
ance he received from contemporaries, he was, we think, as de- 
serving of his fate as he is undeserving of the plaudits of pos- 
terity. 

For three hundred years his fame has steadily increased. It 
has reached its culmination ; and already, from more than one 
quarter, reaction in favor of truth has made itself felt. 

Though the writer was, perhaps, the first in the field, and 
may have more thoroughly and exhaustively than another ex- 
amined into the case of Columbus versus his contemporaries, 
with a view of seeing some justice clone to the latter, yet he has 
not been quite alone — other and powerful blows have been 
struck at the idol which the imagination and superstition of gen- 
erations, with the assistance of ecclesiastical power, have erect- 



J82 



LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



ed. The field is a fresh and fruitful one. Coming research will 
every year, the author is convinced, confirm the statements and 
justify the reasoning contained in this work, which is the im- 
perfect fruit of several years' study and research devoted to the 
subject. 




roKTEAiT OF C0LCJIBC8.— (From a German "Work.) 



APPENDIX. 



A EEOAPiTULATioN of the works consulted by the author in the prepara- 
tion of this volume would unnecessarily swell its proportions ; it may suffice 
to say that he has, during a period of more than seven years, had access to 
many of the best libraries of Western Europe, especially the Bibliothfeque 
Impgriale, Paris ; the British Museum, London ; Bibliothfeque Royale, Brus- 
sels ; together with the valuable collections at Venice, Naples, Milan, Turin, 
Florence, etc., etc. 

In the preparation of that portion of Chapter II. which treats of the mar- 
iner's compass, the author was aided by an Oriental scholar of great erudi- 
tion, whose name he has not authority to mention, but whose learning and 
valuable assistance are held in grateful remembrance. 

THE ILLUSTRATIONS. 

It was the intention of the author, at one time, to have published this 
work in London. To this end the illustrations (with the exception of those 
on pages -250 and 270) were made in Belgium (some designed, others copied, 
and all engraved) by the late "Wm. Brown, of Brussels. Some of those copied 
would seem, from the peculiarity of their subjects, or of the works from 
which they have been taken, to deserve some slight mention or explanation. 

The cuts upon pages 69, 76, 83-89, are chiefly copies from earlier works 
upon the Northmen. 

On page 96 is illustrated the account given by Fernando Columbus (in his 
"Ilistoria del Amirante," chapter ii.) of the desti-uction of a polyglot edition 
of the Psalter, published at Genoa in 1516. Among other reasons alleged for 
the d^ruction of the writings of Giustiniani, besides that of calling Colum- 
bus a mechanic, Fernando charges him with telling " thirteen lies ; " though, 
in a majority of the cases cited by him, the truth appears to have been on 
the side of the author of the Psalter. For instance, says Fernando: "lie" 
(Giustiniani) "charges that the admiral took, by force of arms, on his first 
voyage, a canoe or Indian boat he saw, whereas it appears that he had no war 
the first voyage with any Indians, and continued in peace and amity tcith them 
till the day of his departure from Hispaniolay 

After the above statement, made avowedly in the vindication of sacred 
truth, it is refreshing to turn to the self-constituted vindicator's thirty-sixth 



384 APPENDIX. 

chapter, the heading of which reads: " Of the first shirmish between the 
Christians and Indians, tchich happened about the gulf of Sa?nana, in His- 
pianola,''' and wliich forms a part of his account of tlie first voyage. The 
skirmish in question took place on Sunday, and appears to have been one of 
the Sabbath-day diversions of the pious admirah 

Fernando writes : " On Sunday, the 13th of January, being near the 
cape called Enamorado, the admiral sent the boat ashore, where our men 
found some Indians, with fierce countenances, on the shore, with bows and 
arrows, who seemed to be ready to engage, but, at the same time, were in a 
consternation. However, liaving some conference with them, they bought 
two of their bows and arrows, and with much difficulty prevailed to have 
one of them go aboard the Admiral." A party of men were sent on shore. 
" AVhen our men landed, the Indian that had been aboard made the others 
lay down their bows and arrows, and a great cudgel they carry instead of a 
sword ; for, as has been said, they liave no iron at all. "When they came to 
the boat, the Christians stepped ashore, and, having begun to trade for bows 
and arrows by order of the admiral, the Indians, who had already sold two, 
not only refused to sell any more, but, with scorn, made as if they would 
seize the Christians, and ran to their bows and arrows where they had left 
them, taking up with them ropes to bind our men. They, being upon their 
guard, seeing them come in that fury, though they were but seven, fell cou- 
rageously upon them, and cut one with a sword on the buttock, and shot an- 
other with an arrow in the breast. The Indians, astonished at the resolution 
of our men, and the wounds our weapons made, fled most of them, leaving 
their bows and arrows; and many of them had been killed, had not the pilot 
of the caravel, who commanded the boat, protected them. The admiral was 
not at all displeased at this skirmish, imagining these were the Caribs all 
the other Indians so much dreaded, or that at least they bordered on them, 
they being a bold and resolute people, as appeared by their aspect, arms, 
and actions; and he hoj)ed that the islanders, liearing how seven Christians 
had behaved themselves against fifty-five fierce Indians of that country, 
would the more respect and honor our men that were left behind at 
Nativity." 

Thus it is evident that it was he, Fernando, and not Giustiniani, Aviio in 
this case spoke falsely. 

The seventh lie charged by Fernando is, that he stated that the admiral 
"returned by way of the Canary Islands, which is not the jiroper way for 
those vessels to return ; " yet he did so return, as appears by the following 
extract : 

" God gives victory to all those who walk in his paths, as is clear in this 
case. I have now found and seen the islands of which so many fables have 
been told. Next to God, I am most indebted to the King and Queen of 
Spain. The discovery is so great that the whole of Christendom ought to 
keep festivals and praise the Holy Trinity. An immense number of people 
v,-ill be converted to the Christian faith. Moreover, great material gains will 
bo obtained. On the 2d they had frost and bail-storms in the Canary Isl- 
ands. — Calavera, on the Canary Islands, 15th February (1493). 



APPENDIX. 385 

"P. S. — Encountered such a storm on the Spanish seas, that I was 
obliged to lighten the ships by throwing the cargo overboard. Have been for- 
tunate enough to gain the port of Lisbon, Will write to the King and Queen 
of Castile. — March 14 (1493)." — {ChrUtopTier Columbus to the Escribano de 
Racion of the Islands of the Indies.) 

The eighth lie is made chiefly to grow out of the statement of Giustiniani 
that the admiral sent a messenger to the Spanish sovereigns, informing them 
of his discoveries and return, while "he himself was the messenger," says 
Fernando ("Historia del Amirante," chapter ii.). But, in chapter xl. of 
the same work, we read: "He" (the admiral) "came to an anchor in the 
river of Lisbon upon Monday, the 4th of March, and presently sent away an 
express to their Catholic Majesties with the news of Ms arrivaV 

The tenth lie charged by Fernando is, that Giustiniani stated that the 
admiral " arrived in Hispaniola in twenty days, which is a very short time to 
reach the nearest island, and he performed it not in two months," etc., etc. 

Columbus, in a letter to the sovereigns, writes as follows : "My passage 
from Cadiz to the Canaries occupied four days, and thence to the Indies, from 
which I wrote, sixteen days." 

Fernando continues : 

" So that, by bis negligence and heedlessness in being well informed, and 
writing the truth of these particulars, which are so plain, we may easily dis- 
cern what inquiry he made into that which was so obscure, wherein he con- 
tradicts himself, as has been made to appear. But, laying aside this contro- 
versy, wherewith, I believe, I have by this time tired the reader, we will 
only add that, considering the many mistakes, and falsehoods found in the 
said Giustiniani's history and Psalter, the Senate of Genoa has laid a penalty 
upon any person that shall read or keep it ; and has caused it to be carefully 
sought out in all places it has been sent to, that it may, by public decree, be 
destroyed and utterly extinguished. I will return to our main design, con- 
cluding with this assertion, that the admiral was a man of learning and great 
experience ; that he did not employ his time in handicraft or mechanic exer- 
cises, but in such as became the grandeur and renown of his wonderful ex- 
ploits ; and will conclude this chapter with some words taken out of a letter 
he wrote himself to Prince John of Castile's nurse, which are these : ' I am not 
the first admiral of my family ; let them give me what name they please ; for, 
when all is done, David, that most prudent king, was first a shepherd, and 
afterward chosen King of Jerusalem, and I am servant of that same Lord who 
raised him to such dignity.' " 

As the reader may wish to know more of the obnoxious writings of Gius- 
tiniani, we make the following extracts from his note in the Psalter to the 
fourth verse of the nineteenth psalm, referred to on pages 94 and 95 of this 
work : 

"Now, as Columbus often declared himself to be chosen of God, that 
through him should be fulfilled this prophecy, I have thought it not inappro- 
priate to insert here some account of his life. Christopher, surnamed Colum- 
bus, of the state of Genoa, born of low parentage, it was who, in our time, 
by his industry, explored, in a few months, more of land and ocean than al- 



386 APPEKDIX. 

most all the rest of mortals in all by-gone ages. Tliis wonderful fact rests not 
on the testimony of some vessels, hut has been investigated and proved by 
the passing and repassing of whole fleets and armies. Columbus, in his boy- 
ish years having been taught just the lowest rudiments of Jetirning, as he 
grew up, devoted himself to navigation (i. e., piracy). Afterward, his brothei- 
having gone to Portugal, and set up at Lisbon in the business of drawing 
maps for the use of mariners, representing the seas, coasts, and harbors, Co- 
lumbus in this way learned from liim tlie configuration of the coasts and the 
l)03ition of the islands, which his brother had probably ascertained from 
many persons who were in the habit of going every year from Portugal, by 
royal authority, to exi)lore the unknown lands of Ethiopia, and tlie remote 
sliores of the ocean between the soutli and west, he being often in conversa- 
tion with them. ... As soon as Columbus was sufliciently exactly made 
aware of these things " {here we hare a glimpse of the history of the dead pilot), 
"he at length made known to certain grandees of the court of Spain what he 
had in contemplation, stipulating, however, that suitable provision should be 
made by the king, and to be prompt in doing it, before the Portuguese should 
make their preparations to go amony these new peojyles, and penetrate fresh 
regions hitherto unknown. The intelligence of this scheme was promptly 
communicated to the king, who, both from jealousy of the Portuguese and 
from ambition of this sort of honor of new discoveries, and of tbe glories 
which would accrue to liim and his successors from this enterprise, was 
allured into the negotiation with Columbus ; and, after it had lasted a long 
time, he commanded two vessels to be equipped. With these Columbus, set- 
ting out, steered to the Fortsnate Islands ; thence he took his departure, 
navigating a very little oft" the west line to the left, between southwest and 
west ; when farther out, however, farther from southwest, and almost due 
west. "When the voyage had continued a great many days, and, by their 
reckoning, they had already made four thousand miles (say twenty-five hun- 
dred English) in a direct line, the rest of the company lost hope, and desired 
to turn back ; but he persisted in the enterprise, and, as far as he could 
judge, he undertook to promise that they were not more than one day's 
navigation from some continental lands or islands. His words did not fail to 
be realized. ..." Here follows a more or less correct account of the islands 
discovered and their inliabitants, of Columbus's return to Spain and departure 
on his second voyage, when, continues Giustiniani, "Spain now sent out into 
a hitherto innocent world the poison of its vices, jn-ide, and debauchery; not 
content with their triumph in this our continent, sailed away in quest of 
hitherto pure and harmless nations, and the woods which could barely 
satisfy our greed, being, as it were, exhausted by incessant hunting ; sent 
forth into tlie most remote regions that wild-boar, among those whose appe- 
tites had till now been without excitement. But there also sailed those 
who could heal, by the art of iEsculapius, the people of the diseases that 
were to come upon them— the prey of lust and avarice {see note IGO). 
They also carried out seeds and shoots of trees ; but wheat, as was after- 
Avard ascertained, wherever sown, grew first to a great height immediately, 
and shortly afterward withered and vanished away, as if Nature condemned 



APPENDIX. 387 

the use of new kinds of food, and commanded them to be content with their 
roots." 

These extracts may serve to give an idea of some of the earher written 
histories of Cohimbus. 

To return to the illustration on page 96, it may he well to add that the 
scenes represented on either side of the burning Psalter are copied from 
curious carved representations of tortures of the period of Columbus, which 
are preserved at tbe Musee of the Porte de Halle, at Brussels, Belgium. 

AMERIGO VESPUCCI. 

The portrait of Amerigo Vespucci on page 125 is, beyond question, a cor- 
rect one ; the fact that all the efforts, bearing a master's touch, whether 
sculptured, cast, painted, or engraved, purporting to represent him, are criti- 
cally identical, would seem to vouch for its truthfulness, on the same princi- 
ple as the non-similarity of all purported likenesses of Columbus would seem 
to prove their falsity. The late Mr. Brown, as well as the school to which 
he belonged, regarded it as authentic. It is believed that there is now in the 
United States an original portrait of this great man, painted from life by an 
Italian artist ; that this portrait was until recently carefully preserved and 
much prized by the descendants of Vespucci, of which there is an umcritten 
history. 

PORTRAIT IN THE BIBLIOTHEQUE IMPERIALS. 

On page 150 is one of the many pi'etended portraits of the so-called 
Christopher Columbus; it is from an engraving in the Biblioth^que Imperiale, 
Paris, and is declared by many to be genuine. 

From such study of his character as we have been able to make, we in- 
cline to the belief that this creation is more just to the subject than any we 
have consulted. Here " the great navigator " is clad and adorned, so far as 
we may judge, in an a2)2^ro])riate manner; beneath is appended a fac-simile 
of that remarkable signature by which he wrote himself down " The Cheist- 
BEAEER." Though a hundred would not exaggerate the list of these pre- 
tended portraits, we have in this work reproduced but eight, believing that 
as these, though dissimilar in appearance, are all declared to be genuine, the 
reader may as rightly judge from them as from the hundred we do not 
reproduce. "We shall only notice, in their order, such of those comprised in 
this work as have been the subject of special mention or controversy. 

THE CHRIST-BEARER. 

The apparently somewhat irreverent illustration on page 153 is a portrait 
of Columbus in his self-styled character of "Christ-bearer," copied from an 
old religious work wherein Columbus is greatly glorified. In this scene the 
pious artist seems to have symbolized, as clearly as possible, the name, 
person, pretended cliaracter, attributes, and mission, of our hero. A statue 
similar in design adorns one of the streets of Brussels. 

The Dove, typifying the Holy Ghost, as it appeared at the baptism of 



388 APPENDIX. 

St. John, is especially significant in connection Avitb the subject of the 
engraving, who, wJien changing his name on abandoning his piratical career, 
appears to have thought that he might as well assume one which should in 
every Avay tyjiify his i)retended mission ; and from the sacred symbol of the 
doce, called in Latin Columba, and undergoing but slight variation in dif- 
ferent languages, our hero not only took Ms name, but would lay claim to 
Divine ordination. '■'■lie also carried the olhe-lranch and oil ofhaptism over 
the ioaters of the ocean, like Noah's dove." — {See Feexaxuo, " Ilistoria del 
Amirante," chapter i.) 

BUST OF COLUMBUS AT GEXOA (Page 151). 

Thinking it might be of interest to the reader to know how the portraits, 
as well as the character, of Columbus are invented, we copy the following 
satisfactory and dogmatical mode of treating the subject by Spotorno ; the 
italics are ours : 

"Girolamo Benzone, w//o, although he never saw Columhus, speaks of 
him with such minuteness, that it is evident he either copied some authentic 
account, or derived his information from the viva-voce details of Spaniards 
who had sailed with Columbus, gives the following account: 'He was a man 
of reasonably good stature, of strong and active body, sound judgment, lofty 
understanding, and agreeable aspect ; he had sparkling eyes, red hair, aqui- 
line nose, and rather large mouth ; above all, he was a friend to justice, but 
passionate when provoked.' 

"These particulars, which I communicated to the sculptor, directed his 
hand and mind ; and his production has succeeded in obtaining distinguished 
praise from the connoisseurs of the fine arts. Every one 2iossessed of a grain 
of understanding, after seeing this head, which expresses the living and true 
lineaments of the hero, will throw aside every other j)ortrait; and especially 
that engraved on wood given in the 'Eulogies' of Giovio, in which the dis- 
coverer of America is rej^resented with a hood and prelate's gown, as if he 
had been a conventual friar, or a hermit of St. Augustin." (Spotokko, "In- 
troduction," pages cli., clii.) 

MEN WITH DOGS' HEADS, ETC. 

The illustration on page 210 represents the men with dogs' heads, tails, 
the lions, tigers, and griffins, which Columbus professed to have seen in the 
"Western Ilemisphere. 

COLUMBUS AND HIS EGG (Page 225). 

The curious contend that the story of the egg, illustrations of which have 
adorned so many works of art and letters, is symbolized on the shield or 
arms of the Oolumbos, as represented on page 225. Pvidiculous as this atlair 
certainly is, it has been made to appear, perhaps with some propriety, as one 
of the crowning efforts of the genius of the "great navigator;" it certainly is 
not more absurd than many of his well-authenticated exploits, and may, on 
the whole, tend to elevate and adorn the character of this great man ; the 



APPENDIX. 3S9 

fact that it was, like the log-booli of Alonzo Sanchez, purloined from the 
dead, would seem to vindicate its fitness as an embellishment to the character 
of Columbus, while its antiquity at his birth will admirably accord with the 
studied confusion of dates found in most works which treat of him. His 
would-be canonizers, however, reject this story as trivial and absurd, and 
If. De Lorgues thus relegates the anecdote to its true source : 

"It was with this solemn banquet (supposed to have ieen given iy Cardi- 
nal Mendoza) that some have connected the anecdote of the egg, that insipid 
story to which the memory of Columbus probably owes its greatest popular- 
ity in Europe. 

" One of the party, it is said, having asked him whetlier, if he had not 
discovered the Indies, some other person would not have done so, as his only 
response the admiral ordered an egg to be brought him, and proposed that it 
should be made to stand on one end on the table. One after the other of the 
guests tried in vain ; then he took it, and, breaking it a little on one extremity, 
made it stand on the flattened one. Such, in substance, is the story as it is 
told. Washington Irving hesitates not to give it credit. To surpass him, no 
doubt, M. de Lamartine has this farce acted at the very table of King Ferdinand. 

" "We will not waste our time in demonstrating the absurdity of this tale, 
by its utter improbability. lu the first place, it is without sense or wit ; it 
proves nothing, it explains nothing. No consequence to the point can be in- 
ferred from it. It is no more an answer than it is an allusion ; and presents, 
on the whole, but a gross piece of trickery. It was not by breaking an egg 
at the end, when the question was how to maintain it by its own equilibrium, 
that the admiral showed the cause of the discovery. It was not by this low 
artifice, this want of delicacy, that he would show his superiority of genius 
and of perseverance. "Would Columbus have explained the favors with which 
Providence had loaded him, and justified the truth of his theory, by a jug- 
gler's trick? and, still more, by a clumsy trick, not to say annnfair one? 
The circumstances of time and place tend no less to contradict this silly 
story. Who would have dared, whetlier at the table of the sovereigns or at 
that of the grand-cardinal, to propose so impertinent a question to the Vice- 
roy of the Indies? "Who would have ventured a question that would be as 
disobliging as it would be disrespectful ? And how could the admiral have 
forgotten the rules of etiquette {supposing the '•unlettered seaman'' could 
forget what he never Tcnew) to the point of giving orders to his august host, 
and ask that an egg be brought him? Was this sport compatible with the 
number and the dignity of the guests? None of the Spanish historians have 
mentioned such a circumstance. The Milanese Girolamo Benzoni, the only 
old historian who relates this miserable story, was, no doubt, unable to dis- 
tinguish his former recollections from each other. At any rate, the anecdote 
of the egg is most positively of Italian origin ; we recognize it as such, and 
we have every reason to believe that Columbus must have heard it from the 
lips of his own mother. "With some probability it has been attributed to the 
celebrated architect Brunelleschi, by whom the church of Santa Maria del 
Fiore raises its cupola into the sky of Florence. Here the fact does not seem 
improbable, however trifling it may appear. Around a joyous table at a 



390 APPEXDIX. 

tavern, Florentine artists may come to these bantering questions, to these 
jugglings, Avliero jesting holds the place of reason, and where one can avail 
himself of ' pill and poll,' rather than of logic. At such a table wo can easily 
conceive such a trivial trick to be played, but not elsewhere. Before us Vol- 
taire lias said that the story of the egg was related of Brunelleschi ('Essai 
sur Ics Moeurs,' chapter cxlix.). Upon this point we are entirely of his 
opinion." — (De Lorgues, vol. i., book i., chapter xi.) 

It is curious to discover, however, that this trick, or mode of argument, 
did not originate even with Brunelleschi. The story of the egg is infinitely 
less witty, and seems to lose all point by the side of the following anecdote, 
which refers to a knight of the tim-o of the Crusades: It was at Cardiff Castle, 
in Wales, according to an old Welsh chronicle, that Sir Foulk Fitzwarren 
was speaking of toils encountered and hardships endured in warring with the 
Saracens, and his knights murmured, and each one said he could have done 
as much as their chief had done. " But," said Sir Foulk, " these were noth- 
ing to one feat I accomplished." "What was that?" quoth they all. "I 
jumped," answered the knight, "from the ground to the top of yonder 
tower of my castle, which you know to bo the tallest tower in these parts." 
So they laughed scornfully, and gainsayed his words. "If," said the knight, 
" you will dine with me at noonday to-morrow, I will do it once again." So 
every one of the knights came to the feast; and, when they had well eaten 
and drunken, " Now come," said Sir Foulk, " with me, and you shall see me 
jump from the ground to the top of the castle-tower." They proceeded to 
the foot of the stairs, and Sir Foulk jumped to the top of the first step, then 
on to another, and so on until upon the topmost step. " Oh ! " said the 
knights, "we could do that ourselves." "So you could," said Sir Foulk, 
" now I have taught you the way to do it." 

Thus it is that not only history, but gossip and trivial anecdote repeat 
themselves; verily, there is no neio thing under the sun! As usual, in such 
cases as the one we speak of, the imitation falls far short of the original in 
pith and point. 

THE MANATI. 

The fish or animal in the illustration, taken from Philopono, wliich appears 
on page 227 of this work, is less apocryphal than this curious representation 
of it would lead us to suppose. The latter furnishes an instance of how diflS- 
cult it is to delineate correctly from mere written description, or rather, per- 
haps, a proof of how largely the imagination was drawn npon in writing the 
history of the period and lands of which wo treat. As the following quaint 
and interesting passage, however, from Peter Martyr, has apparently fur- 
nished the matter for a description of the raanati (a specimen of which is now 
to be seen in Central Park, New York) in a late magazine for the instruction 
of youth, and, as the modern author, with the creature before him, has not 
found it necessary to deviate materially from the description given by the 
Italian scholar, we have thought the original might interest the curious: 

" The king of this region, named Caramatexius, taketh great pleasure in 
fishing. Into his nets chanced a young fish, of the kind of those monsters 



APPENDIX. 391 

of the sea which the inhabitors called manati, . . . This fish is four-footed, 
and in shape like unto a tortoise, although she be not covered with a shell, 
but with scales, and those of such hardness that no arrow can hurt her. Her 
scales are beset and defended with a thousand knobs, her back is plain, and her 
head utterly like the head of an ox. She liveth both in the water and on the 
land, is slow of moving, of condition meek, gentle, loving to mankind, and 
of marvelous sense of memory, as are the elephant and the dolphin. The 
king nourished this fish certain days at home with the bread of the country, 
made of yucca and panycke, and with such other roots as men are accus- 
tomed to eat, for, when she was yet young, he cast her into a pool or 
lake near unto his palace, there to be fed with the hand. This lake also re- 
ceiveth waters and casteth not the same forth again; it was in time past 
called Guarabo, but is now called the Lake of Manati, after the name of this 
fish, which wandered safely in the same for the space of twenty-five years, 
and grew exceeding big. Whatsoever is written of the dolphins of Baian 
or Arion are much inferior to the doings of this fish, which, for her gentle 
nature, they named Matum, that is, gentle or noble; therefore, whensoever 
any of the king's famihars, especially such as are known to her, resort to the 
banks of the lake and call ' Matum ! Matum ! ' then she (as mindful of such 
benefits as she hath received of men) lifteth up her head and cometh to the 
place whither she is called, and there receiveth meat at the hands of such as 
feed her. If any desire to pass over the lake, and make signs and tokens of 
their intent, she boweth herself to them, thereby, as it were, gently inviting 
them to mount upon her, and conveyeth them safely over. It hath been seen 
that this monstrous fish hath at one time safely carried over ten men, singing 
and playing. But if, by chance, when she lifted up her head, she espied any 
of the Christian men, she would immediately plunge down again into the 
water, and refuse to obey, because she had once received injury at the hands 
of a certain wanton young man among the Christians, who had cast a sharp 
dart at her, although she were not hurt by reason of the hardness of her 
skin — being rough, and full of scales and knobs, as we have said ; yet did she 
bear in memory the injury she sustained, with so gentle a revenge, requiting 
the ingratitude of him which had dealt with her so ungently. From that 
day, whensoever she was called by any of her familiars, she first looked cir- 
cumspectly about her, lest any were present appareled after the manner of 
the Christians ; she would oftentimes play and wrestle upon the bank with 
the king's chamberlains, and especially with a young man whom the king 
favored well, being also accustomed to feed her. She would be sometimes as 
pleasant and full of play as it had been a monkey or marmoset, and was of 
long time a great comfort and solace to the whole island, for no small confluence, 
as well of the Christians as of the inhabitants, had daily concourse to behold 
so strange a miracle of Nature, the contemplation of which was no less 
pleasant than wonderful. They say that the meat of this kind of fish is of 
good taste, and that many are engendered in the seas thereabout. But, at 
length, this pleasant playfellow was lost, and carried into the sea by the great 
river Attibunicus, one of the four which divide the island, for at that time there 
chanced so terrible a tempest of wind and rain, with such floods ensuing, 
26 



392 APPENDIX. 

that the Hko hath not been heard of. By reason of this tempest, the river 
Attibunicus so overflowed the banks that it filled the -whole vale, and mixed 
itse'.f with all the other lakes, at which time, also, this gentle Matum and 
pleasant companion, following the vehement course and fall of the floods, was 
thereby restored to his old mother and native waters, and, since that tiine, 
never seen again." — (Peteb Maetye, decade iii., chapter viii.) 



PORTRAIT OF COLUMBUS (Page 235). 

The portrait of Columbus vrhich appears on page 235 is a faithful copy 
of De Bry's. While we believe, with Spotorno, that this portrait and its 
history are forgeries, yet it appears to possess as high claims to authenticity 
as any of the myriad of these creations with which the curious are familiar. 
Spotorno comments justly upon the false claims of this portrait, though the 
conclusions at which he ultimately arrives are somewluat original, if not quite 
logical (see this Appendix, notice of cut on page 151). Of De Bry he writes : 

• "We have no wish to conceal the fact that Theodore De Bry pretended 
that he possessed a portrait of the hero, the same that was to be seen in an 
apartment of the Council of the Indies, from which place, having been stolen, 
and carried to the Netherlands for sale, it came finally into the hands of De 
Bry, who gave an engraving of it in his 'America.' This print has been 
copied in the ' Eulogium of Columbus,' by the Marquis Durazzo, printed by 
Bodini, and in the 'Life of Bossi,' published at Milan. There are numerous 
reasons for impugning the authenticity of De Bry's portrait. A man who 
feels no remorse at stealing, and is not even ashamed to avow himself a thief, 
will be ready enough to tell a lie for the purpose of extorting a few ducats 
from a credulous amateur. The history of the Spanish painters gives no 
countenance to this thiefs story. But what is more, on comparing De Bry's 
engraving with Fornando's description, it will be seen that they entirely dis- 
agree. And Baron Vernazza, having compared that of De Bry with the one 
published by Bullart, and that given by Muiioz, as well as the Cuccaro por- 
trait, finds an essential discrepancy in the whole of them." — (Spotorno, "In- 
troduction," pages cxlv., cxlviii.) 

Of the many ridiculous stories told of these portraits, there is none less 
worthy of belief than that portion of Do Bry's which represents his to be a 
copy of one for which Columbus sat at the instance of Ferdinand and Isa- 
bella. Had this been so, the vanity of Fernando Columbus would have 
caused him to enlarge upon it in his history, while Christopher would have 
added, no doubt, to his recapitulation of the royal honors conferred upon 
him, when exclaiming, "He called me Don," by continuing, "and asked me 
to sit for my portrait that he might possess a memorial of his dear friend." 
At any rate, his silence and that of his son on the subject may be regarded 
as proof positive that the story of De Bry is an invention ; to enhance the 
value of this invention he tells us tliat Columbus was an extraordinary ge- 
nius, and most excellent man — upright, "pure, and noble-minded, and an 
earnest friend of peace and justice." This last assertion will enable those 



APPENDIX. 393 

who are competent to judge of the character of Columbus, to determine the 
value of the statements touching his portrait. 



SPANISH CRUELTIES. 

The numerous illustrations of the cruelties perpetrated on the natives of 
the Western Hemisphere would seem to explain themselves ; they are taken 
chiefly from the work on Spanish cruelties in the New "World, by Las Casas, 
illustrated by De Bry. 

We may quote one or two descriptions of the scenes represented ; the 
following, on the cut on page 245, is from the work of the venerable pre- 
late: 

" They erected certain gibbets, large, but low made, so that their feet 
almost reached the ground, every one of which was so arranged as to bear 
thirteen persons, in honor and reverence (as they blasphemously and deri- 
sively said) of our Redeemer and his twelve apostles, under which they made 
a fire to burn them to ashes while hanging on them ; but those they intended 
to preserve alive they dismissed, having cut their hands half ofi", leaving them 
still hanging by the skin to carry these as letters missive to those that fly 
from them and lie skulking in the mountains, as a warning of their fate. 

" The lords, and persons of noble extraction, were usually exposed to this 
kind of death : they ordered gridirons to be placed and supported with wooden 
forks, and, putting a small fire under them, these miserable wretches by de- 
grees, with loud shrieks and exquisite torments, at last expired. I once saw 
four or five of these chiefs laid on these gridirons, but the shrill clamors 
which were heard there being ofiensive to the captain, by hindering his 
repose, he commanded them to be strangled with a halter. The executioner 
(whose name and parents at Seville are not unknown to me) prohibited the 
doing of it, but stuflfed gags into their mouths to prevent the hearing of the 
noise (he himself making the fire) till they died, when they had been roasted 
as long as he thought convenient. I was an eye-witness of these and an 
innumerable number of other cruelties." 

The following passage in Herrera is illustrated on page 253 : The Indians are 
carrying bread to the Spaniards, the latter " always using to carry their dogs 
along with them, while the Indians were busy carrying the bread to the 
caravel's boat ; the cazique went about with a wand in his hand, hastening his 
people, and a Spaniard standing by, who held a dog in a chain ; the dog, 
observing the cazique in motion, and the wand in bis hand, offered several 
times to fly at him, so that the Spaniard could scarce bold him, and said to 
another, ' What if we should let him on ? ' No sooner had he spoke, than the 
other, in jest, said, ' At him ! ' thinking he could have held him ; the dog, 
hearing the word, flew out with all his force, and breaking loose from the 
Spaniard, seized the cazique by the belly, tore out his bowels, and left him 
dead, the Spaniards going away to their caravel." — (Heeeeea, decade i., book 
v., chapter ii.) 

Thus did the Spaniards amuse themselves! 



39i APPENDIX. 

LAWS, SACRED AXD PROFANE. 

Las Casas tells us of the more lawful (?) and decorous manner of murder- 
ing the Indians for tbe sake of their supposed wealth. He save.: 

" These wicked Spaniards, like thieves, came to any place by stealthy 
half a mile oft" of any city, town, or village, and there in the night published 
and proclaimed the edict among themselves, after this manner : ' You caziques 
and Indians of this continent, the inhabitants of such a place' (which they 
named), ' wo declare (or be it known to you all) that there is but one God, one 
pope, and one King of Castile, who is lord of these countries. Appear forth with- 
out delay, and take the oath of allegiance to the Spanish king, as his vassals.' 
So about the fourth watch of the night, or three in the morning, while these 
poor innocents were overwhelmed with heavy sleep, they ran violently on that 
I>lace they named, set fire to the hovels, vrhich were all thatched, and so, 
without notice, burned men, women, and children, and killed whom they 
pleased upon the spot ; but those they reserved as captives were compelled, 
through torments, to confess where they had hid the gold, when they found 
little or none at their houses, and when the fire was extinguished, they came 
hastily in quest of the gold." 

Later in the course of Spanish villainies, pious divines elaborated and 
rendered this proceeding more formal, as "will appear from the subjoined 
copy. This paper was read to the Indians by the chaplains of the army, in 
order to justify, if not to sanctify, the slaughter about to be enacted, of per- 
sons who understood not a word of this remarkable production : 

"MANIFESTO. 

"I, servant of the high and mighty Kings of Castile and Leon, civilizers 
of barbarous nations, their messenger and captain, notify and make known 
to you, in the best way I can, tliat God our Lord, one and eternal, created 
the heavens and earth, and one man and one woman, from whom you, and 
we, and all the people of the earth, were and are descendants, procreated, 
and all those who shall come after us; but the vast number of generations 
which have proceeded from them in the course of more than five thousand 
years that have elapsed since the creation of the world, made it necessary 
that some of the human race should disperse in one direction, and some in 
another, and that they should divide themselves into many kingdoms and 
provinces, as they could not sustain and preserve themselves in one alone. 
All these people were given in charge, by God our Lord, to one person, 
named Saint Peter, who was thus made lord and superior of all the people 
of the earth, and head of the whole human lineage ; whom all should obey, 
wherever they might live, and whatever might be their law, sect, or belief: 
he gave him also the whole world for his service and jurisdiction; and 
though he desired that he should establish his chair in Rome, as a place most 
convenient for governing the world, yet he permitted that he might establish 
his chair in any other part of the world, and judge and govern all the 
nations. Christians, Moors, Jews, Gentiles, and whatever other sect or belief 



APPENDIX. 395 

miglit be. This person was denominated Pope, that is to say, Admirable, 
Supreme, Father, and Guardian, because he is father and governor of all man- 
kind. This holy father was obeyed and honored as lord, king, and superior of 
the universe, by those who lived in his time, and, in like manner, have been 
obeyed and honored all those who have been elected to the pontificate ; and 
thus it has continued until the present day, and will continue until the end 
of the world. 

" One of these pontiffs, of whom I have spoken as lord of the woi-ld, made 
a donation of these islands and continents of the ocean sea, and all that they 
contain, to the Catholic Kings of Castile, who, at that time, were Ferdinand 
and Isabella, of glorious memory, and to their successors, our sovereigns, ac- 
cording to the tenor of certain papers, drawn up for the purpose (which you 
may see if you desire). Thus his Majesty is king and sovereign of these isl- 
ands and continents by virtue of the said donation, and as king and sover- 
eign, certain islands, and almost all, to whom this has been notified, have 
received his Majesty, and have obeyed and served, and do actually serve him. 
And, moreover, like good subjects, and with good-will, and without any 
resistance or delay, the moment they were informed of the foregoing, they 
obeyed all the religious men sent among them to preach and teach our holy 
faith ; and these of their free and cheerful will, without any condition or 
reward, became Christians and continue so to be. And his Majesty received 
them kindly and benignantly, and ordered that they should be treated like 
his other subjects and vassals. You also are required and obliged to do the 
same. Therefore, in the best manner I can, I pray and entreat you, that you 
consider well what I have said, and that you take whatever time is reason- 
able to understand and dehberate upon it, and that you recognize the Church 
for sovereign and superior of the universal world, and the supreme pontiff, 
called Pope, in her name, and his Majesty, in his place, as superior and 
sovereign king of the islands and terra firma by virtue of the said donation ; 
and that you consent that these religious fathers declare and preach to you 
the foregoing ; and if you shall so do, you will do well, and will do that to 
which you are bounden and obliged ; and his Majesty, and I, in his name, 
will receive you with all due love and charity, and Avill leave you your wives 
and children free from servitude, that you may freely do with them and with 
yourselves whatever you please and think proper, as have done the inhabit- 
ants of the other islands. And, besides this, his Majesty will give you many 
privileges and exemptions, and grant you many favors. If you do not do 
this, or wickedly and intentionally delay to do so, I certify to you that by the 
aid of God I will forcibly invade and make war upon you in all parts and 
modes that I can, and will subdue you to the yoke and obedience of the 
Church and of his Majesty; and I will take your wives and children, and 
make slaves of them, and sell them as such, and dispose of them as his Ma- 
jesty may command : and I will take your effects, and will do you all the 
harm and injury in my power, as vassals who wiU not obey or receive their 
sovereign, and who resist and oppose him. And I protest that the deaths 
and disasters, which may in this manner be occasioned, will be the fault of 
yourselves, and not of his Majesty, nor of me, nor of those cavaliers who 



396 APPENDIX. 

accompany me. And of what I here tell vou and require of you, I caU upon 
the notary here present to give me his signed testimonial." 

It would be scarce possible more appropriately to close this brief mention 
of the inhumanity practised toward the wretched inhabitants of the New 
World by the Spaniards, than by quoting the following heart-rending de- 
scription : 

" The vast numbers employed in these mines are bound in fetters, and 
compelled to work day and night without intermission, and without the least 
hope of escape, for they set over them soldiers who speak a foreign language, 
so that there is no possibility of conciliating them by persuasion, or the kind 
feelings which result from familiar converse. . . . No attention is paid to 
their persons ; they have not even a piece of rag to cover themselves ; and so 
wretched is their condition that every one who witnesses it deplores the 
excessive misery they endure. 

"No rest, no intermission from toil, are given either to the sick or 
maimed: neither the Aveakness of ago nor women's infirmities are regarded; 
all are driven to their work with the lash, till at last, overcome with the 
intolerable weight of their alBictions, they die in the midst of their toil. So 
that these unhappy creatures always expect worse to come than what they 
endure at the present, and long for death as far preferable to life." 

TOBACCO, SMOKING, CHEWING, SNUFF.— (,Sec illustration, page 322.) 

Eoderigo de Jerez, and Luis de Torres, as agents or ambassadors of 
Columbus to tlie grand-khan (see pages 201, 202), on their return from that 
ridiculous mission, among other things reported that they saw the natives 
going about with brands of fire in their hands, together with a dried herb, 
which they rolled up in a leaf. Setting one end on fire, putting the other in 
their mouths, they drew in and puffed out the smoke ; these rolls the natives 
called "tabaco," substantially the name by which the plant or weed is now 
known. The smoke was conveyed to the mouth through what they believed 
to be a charred stick. Las Casas tells us that the Indians, on being questioned 
as to this habit, informed him tliat it took away fatigue, and caused tliem 
to forget their troubles, and that he had known Spaniards in Ilispaniola 
addicted to the same habit, who, when reproved, replied that it was not in 
their power to abandon it. He continues: "I do not know what savor or 
profit they found in them" (tabacos). 

Fernando says : " The cazique and chief men never ceased putting a dry 
herb into their mouths and chewing it, and sometimes they took a sort of 
powder they carried with that herb, which looks very odd." — ("Ilistoria del 
Amirante," chapter xcvi.) 

Navaretto says: "Thus was the first lesson given to Europeans of this 
extraordinary habit, which has become universal ; hence the origin of the 
much-prized and far-famed Havanas." 

We copy the following from "The Landfall of Columbus," by Captain A. 
B. Becher, R. N., F. R. A. S., etc., etc., etc., London, 1856 : 



APPENDIX. 397 

" Here," says Becher, alluding to the first time Spaniards witnessed the 
practice, " as Las Casas observes, is the origin of smoking tobacco, a practice 
which, however extensive it may be in other countries (and common 
enough it no doubt is there), has become so general in this, that, to the dis- 
credit of parents, it is even followed by children! The eternal cigar is seen 
in the mouth of old and young, even in that of the ragged urchin who swag- 
gers along, not only astonishing those who see him at his early hardihood, 
but leaving them to wonder how he came by it, considering the price which 
must have been paid for it. As already observed, it is profitable to the state, 
if it is indulged in at the cost of the pocket, the health, and the personal 
comfort of society. 

" The following, from an ofiicial source, is a statement of the amount of 
duty derived from tobacco in the United Kingdom for the last three years : 

1853 £4,500,827 

1854 4,751,776 

1855 •. 4,704,663." 

Between September 1, 1862, and June 80, 1872, the United States col- 
lected the sum of $200,213,837 from tobacco, and for the year ending June, 
1873, $34,386,303.09. 

It is therefore apparent that, if this discovery has not profited the in- 
dividual, it has swelled the revenue of states. To Spain it was of far greater 
value than all the gold derived from the mines of which Columbus gave such 
extravagant accounts. 

It would seem that this plant might furnish a theme for those who write 
upon the wealth of nations. 

The illustrations on pages 148 and 328 of this work might appear to some 
irreverent, yet it has not been the desire of the author to perpetrate any 
irreverence; he has considered that the disgusting and blasphemous manner 
in which Columbus shielded himself behind the Deity, and declared himself 
divinely justified in the commission of his most revolting crimes, cannot 
be too forcibly or palpably presented to the eye of the reader ; and, if these 
engravings should shock the latter, how much more will he abhor the in- 
ventor of their subjects ! We feel confident that he will exonerate us from 
any imputation of irreverence when he shall carefully examine the statements 
of Columbus which these engravings were intended to illustrate. We have 
not ^'carried the war up to the manifesto." 



INDEX. 



Abraham, 28. 

Age of the human race, 3. 

Alexander, his fleet, etc., 30, 47. 

Alexander VI., Pope, 94, 126, 228, 356. 

Alexandria, 29. 

Alexandrian Library, 14. 

Amalfi, a pilot of, 31. 

America, ruins of Central, IG ; similarity 
of latter to Egyptian, 18 ; metal used 
by the ancients of, 18 ; known to the 
ancients, 26 ; described by the North- 
men, 71 ; discovered by the North- 
men, 73, 87 ; called Vincland by 
Northmen, 76 ; probably discovered 
by Madoc, 89 ; also by the Zeni 
brothers, 91 ; the name bestowed by 
royal decree, 121. 

Ancients, the, their architectural knowl- 
edge, 1 ; their advancement in sci- 
ence, 2, 5, 13, 21; their knowledge 
of geography, 25 ; their knowledge 
of the New World, 26 ; their exten- 
sive commerce, 28, 29 ; their ship- 
building, 30 ; their use of the chain- 
cable, compass, etc., 31, 52; their 
knowledge of printing, 60 ; their re- 
markable literature, 62 ; injustice 
done their attainments, 67. 

Arabia Felix, 29. 

Arabs, their learning, 66, 182. 

Archimedes, 30. 

Architecture of the ancients, 1, 2. 

Aristotle, quoted, 45, 47, 167. 

Arthur, Prince of Wales, 103. 

Asia, its ruined cities, 2. 

Astrolabe used by the ancients, 60. 

Astronomy among the ancients, 2, 21. 

Atlantis, island of, 27. 

Aztecs, their ancient civilization, 15, 17, 19. 

Baal, worship of, 3. 

Haall)ec, ruins of, 1. ( 

Babel, Tower of, 2, 4. 
Babylon, ruins of, 2, 4 ; study of astrono- 
my in, 3. 
Bacon, Roger, 35, 37, 38. 



Barcelona, 218, 219. 
Beamish, quoted, 71. 
Beatrix Enriquez, Columbus's mistress, 

355, 356. 
Biam, a Norse navigator, 72, 84, 86. 
Bobadilla, Francisco, 273, 275, 277, 284, 

287, 297, 316. 
Borgia, Rodcrigo, Pope, 94, 126, 228, 356. 
Boturini, quoted, 93. 
Boyle, Bishop, pope's nuncio, 242, 246, 

252. 
Brahman religion, 63. 
Brazil, 117, 118. 

]}ronze doors of United States Capitol, 349. 
Brunctto, 35. 

Cabot, John, accoimt of, 134; his expe- 
dition to America, 134 ; nmch honor 
paid him, 135. 

Cabot, Sebastian, said to have discovered 
variations of the magnetic needle, 51, 
138; accompanies his father, etc., 
136; appointed pilot-major of Spain, 
137; discovers Paraguay, 137; his 
subsequent life, 138; the value of his 
discoveries, 139. 

Cable-chain {see chain-cable). 

Cabral, Pedro Alvarez de, 140, 141. 

Cadmus, 14. 

Cajsar, Julius, quoted, 31, 66. 

Cannibalism, Indians of North America 
accused of, 319. 

Canonization of Columbus proposed, 94, 
316. 

Cape-Cod, landing-place of Northmen, 73. 

Capitol of the United States, bronze doors 
of, 349, 350. 

Carthage, 29. 

Central America, ruins of, 18. 

Chain-cable known to the ancients, 31. 

Charlevoix, quoted, 283, 296. 

Charts, standard, made by Vespucius, 
119; of Columbus verv inaccurate, 
123 ; of Alonzo Sanchez, 132, 165, 
168, 174; Columbus draws by in- 
spiration, 148. 



INDEX. 



399 



China, Columbus takes Cuba to be, 201. 

Chinese, ancieut, understood the magnet, 
46, 52, 54, 56, 58. 

magnetic ctir, 53. 

destroyed all their historical relics, 

55. 

Chrishna, quoted, 64. 

Christ-bearer, a title assumed by Colum- 
bus, 146, 153. 

Church, the, condemning books, 95 ; falsi- 
fying history, 95, 99, 120, 2*72. 

Civilization of the New World, very an- 
cient, 19. 

Claudian, the poet, describes the compass, 
40. 

Coat-of-arms of Columbus, 225. 

Colon, Columbus's family name, 144. 

Colon (or Columbus), Bartholomew, 180, 
245, 263, 304, 314, 327, 333, 340, 341, 
343, 380. 

Colon (or Columbus), Diego, 304, 305, 311, 
341, 373, 380. 

Columbus, Fernando, quoted, 86, 94, 144, 
146, 153, 178, 220, 26V, 287, 320; 
forged letters and documents to glo- 
rify his father, 161 ; indignant at 
Justinian! for mentioning his father's 
early life, 173 ; inscription on his 
tomb, 347. 

Columbus, Christopher, ^'^ reputed dis- 
covery of the magnetic needle, 51 ; 
his egotism and selfishness, 86, 131, 
334 ; the false histories regarding 
him, 92, 95, 143, 177, 192, 194; his 
pretended championship of the Chris- 
tian religion, 94, 146, 153; an allu- 
sion to his early life considered an 
insult, 95, 173; regarded by King 
Ferdinand as an impostor, 99, 126; 
his nautical experience gained by 
piracy, 115; he is ignored by a 
contemporary historian, 121 ; aware 
of Amerigo Vespucci's claims of dis- 
covei'ing the continent, 121 ; letter 
of Columbus to his son Diego, 122 ; 
falls into disgrace through his cru- 
elty, etc., 123; and reaches a low 
stage of degradation, 124, 303 ; the 
time and place of his nativity un- 
known, 124, 143, 147, 167, 306, 343; 
his ridiculous ideas regarding the 
shape of the eai-th, 126, 183 ; his 
own historian and eulogist, 128; en- 
ters Spain penniless and with a bad 
reputation, 129, 179, 182; persuades 
the Pinzons to join him, 130 ; sailing 
of his expedition, 131, 187, 192; de- 
parts from the correct course, and is 
set right by the Pinzons, 132, 174, 
195; basely robs an old sailor of a 
promised reward, 132, 197; accuses 



his patron Piuzon of desertion, 133 ; 
203, 218; his name and ances- 
try, as stated by his son, 144 ; his 
family name is Griego, 145 ; engaged 
in a piratical adventure, 145, 161 ; 
the mystei-y that hangs over his early 
life, 146, 167 ; speculations as to his 
age, 147 ; boasts of receiving knowl- 
edge by inspiration, 148, 328 ; he con- 
fesses to falsehood and fraud, 149 ; 
his piracy and connection with the 
slave-trade, 149 ; his pretended por- 
traits, 151, 219, 235, 284, 371, 382; 
his adoption of the name Christopher 
Columbus, 153 ; further items of his 
history as related by his son, 156 ; 
pretended letter of Tuscanella, the 
astronomer, to him, 158; his escape 
from the burning galleys on an oar, 
161 ; his marriage, 161 ; removes to 
Madeira, 162 ; his idea of a New 
World gained from a dead pilot's 
papers, 162, 165, 168, 170, 173, 176, 
179 ; Sanchez dies in his house, 165, 
166; declared hereditary grand-ad- 
miral by Ferdinand and Isabella, 171, 
183 ; his son receives titles of no- 
bility, 172 ; proceeds to Portugal to 
offer terms to the king, 178 ; he flees 
from Portugal to avoid arrest for 
debt and crime, 179 ; attempts to sell 
his purported discovery to the King 
of England, 180 ; is entertained and 
aided by the prior, Juan Perez, 129, 
167, 179, 181 ; the terms proposed by 
their majesties to Columbus, 183; 
returns to Palos, and secures the aid 
of Perez and the Pinzons, 188; his 
first expedition sails, 192 ; miracle 
of the great fish, 192; minor inci- 
dents of his trip, 193-195; further 
evidences of his vanity, deceit, and 
fraud, 195; Columbus pre"tended to 
have discovered land, 197; landing 
of the expedition, 199; his fruitless 
search for gold, 200 ; visits other isl- 
ands, 200; imagines himself in China, 
201 ; sends a message to the grand- 
khan, 202 ; poetical leaf from a log, 
204 ; loses one of his ships by care- 
lessness and incapacity, 206, 331 ; 
establishes a garrison at La Navidad, 
207 ; sets sail on his return, 208, 
210; his lying accounts of wonders 
seen on his voyage, 209 ; vows to 
make a pilgrimage to the shrine of 
the Virgin, 211 ; makes a record of 
his discoveries, in a storm, 212; his 
crew arrested while paying their vows, 
213 ; Columbus pays vows to the Vir- 
gin, 215; his pretended reception in 



400 



INDEX. 



Portugal, 216 ; arrives in Spain, 218 ; 
amusingly fanciful account of his re- 
ception, 221 ; Lis arrival and recep- 
tion not recorded in the state ar- 
chives, 223 ; receives title of admiral, 
and a coat-of-arms, 224 ; starts on 
his second voyage, 228 ; arrives at 
San Domingo, 229 ; his intention to 
establish slavery in the West Indies, 
230; finds his colony at Hispaniola 
massacred, 233 ; attempts to lay out 
a town, 236 ; the deceptions he prac- 
tised on the colonists, 238 ; they mu- 
tiny against Columbus, 239 ; he builds 
Fort San Tomas, 240; sends an ex- 
pedition against the natives, 240 ; dis- 
covers Jamaica, 242 ; guilty of sub- 
ornation of jierjury, 243 ; appoints 
his brother Bartholomew to office, 
245 ; ]lishop Eoyle remonstrates 
against his cruel government, 246 ; ex- 
communicates him from the Church, 
247; and goes to Spain with com- 
plaints against him, 24Y ; captures 
the cazique Caonabo, by a mere 
stratagem, 248 ; sends five hundred 
Indians sl.aves to Spain, etc., 249 ; ex- 
acts a tribute of gold from the na- 
tives, 250; the sovereigns send a 
commissioner to investigate him, 252 ; 
he returns to Spain, 254 ; his decep- 
tion and mendacity exposed, 255 ; 
again takes out an expedition, 256 ; 
assaults the treasurer of Bishop Fon- 
seca, 258 ; sets sail on his third voy- 
age, 259 ; first sees the Continent of 
America, 260; proceeds to Hispani- 
ola, 262 ; the rebellion of Eoldan, 
264 ; Columbus endeavors to concil- 
iate him, 265 ; Roldan forces from 
him terms, 266 ; more proofs of Co- 
lumbus's duplicity, 267 ; his treatment 
of Guevara, 269 ; the murder of 
Moxica, 270 ; executes vengeance on 
the disaffected, 272 ; Bobadilla sent 
to Hispaniola, 273 ; supersedes Co- 
lumbus, 275, 277 ; the latter obstructs 
him, 279, 280; Bobadilla arrests him 
and Diego, 281 ; his defense of his 
own conduct, 285 ; he leaves for 
Spain, a prisoner, 295 ; he is practi- 
cally deposed from power, 297 ; re- 
mains in Spain two years, 299 ; pre- 
tends to plan a discovery of straits, 
300, 318 ; his will, 303, 308 ; his des- 
perate situation, 303 ; his signature, 
304; sends his papers to Oderigo, 
309, 310, 343 ; endeavors to wheedle 
the pope, 312; his fourth voyage, 
314 ; is refused permission to land 
at San Domingo, 315 ; meets very 



stormy weather, 319 ; a specimen of 
his brutal tastes, 321 ; subdues a 
water-s{)Out by incantations, 324 ; 
founds another settlement, 327 ; but 
again has trouble with the Indians, 
327 ; the Deity appears to him in a vi- 
sion, 328 ; gets up a " corner " on gold- 
mines, 330 ; mutiny is raised against 
him, 335 ; he predicts an eclipse of 
the moon, 337, 363 ; remains wait- 
ing at Jamaica eight months, 339 ; 
bloodshed between his followers, 340 ; 
arrives at San Domingo, 342 ; returns 
to Spain, 343 ; requests a restitution 
of his titles, 344 ; Ferdinand refuses 
his request, 345 ; his death, 346 ; his 
reputed monument and inscription, 
347; his remains, 348; his charac- 
ter generally described, 351 ; his 
manuscript, 354 ; his licentiousness, 
355 ; his " distempers," 358 ; his ig- 
norance of geography and navigation, 
362 ; his cruelty and cowardice, 367 ; 
his son Diego enters suit against the 
crown, 373 ; Columbus's heirs gain 
the suit, 375; his descendants, 381. 

Commerce among the ancients, 28. 

Compass, the mariner's, known to the an- 
cients, 31, 56 ; described by Brunet- 
to, 39 ; origin of the name, 49 ; sup- 
posed to be allied with sorcery, CI. 

Confucius, 55 ; quoted, 64. 

Cortez, Ferdinand, 171. 

Cuba discovered, 200. 

Danish language, 70. 
Dante, 36, 37. 

De Costa, B. F., quoted, 71, 76. 
De Puebla, Dr., agent of Isabella, 101, 
102, 140. 

Earth, the sphericity of the, known to the 
ancients, 24 ; tlie Indian fable regard- 
ing, 92 ; the shape of, as imagined by 
Columbus, 126. 

Egg, story of Columbus and the {see Ap- 
pendix), 388. 

Egypt, its ruins, 14. 

Egyptians, their pyramids, 7 ; their sci- 
ence and learning, 13, 22; knew the 
use of the magnet, 44 ; poultry-rais- 
ing by artificial means, 60. 

Electricity understood by the ancients, 
45. 

Eric the Red, 72, 77. 

Falsifying of history by the Church, 95, 
99 120 122 272. 

Ferdinand of Aragon, his character, 97, 
109, 112; restrictions on his con- 
duct, 98, 99; his libertinism, 111; 



INDEX. 



401 



Irving's estimate of Mm, 112 ; regards 
Columbus as an impostor, 99, 114, 
126 ; aided Vespucci to make dis- 
coveries, 114; reengages him to his 
service, 118 ; bestows Amerigo Ves- 
pucci's name on the new-found con- 
tinent, 121 ; Columbus addresses him 
as surviving sovereign, 344. 

Florence, inscription at Vespucci's birth- 
place, 114 ; rejoicings at Vespucci's 
success, 118. 

Fonseca, Bishop, 257, 268. 

Galen, quoted, 4*7. 

Galileo, his knowledge of astronomy, 24, 25. 

Genoa, claimed as Columbus's birthplace, 
143, 306. 

Geography, knowledge of, by ancients, 25. 

Gira, or Giri, alleged inventor of the com- 
pass, 32. 

Gish, plains of, 11. 

Golden rule, taught by Confucius, 64. 

Greece, 15, 23. 

Greenland, 10, 11. 

Griego, Nicolo, probable name of Colum- 
bus, 145. 

Guistiniani, quoted, 94. 

Gunpowder, discovery of, 38, 56 ; known 
to ancients, 56. 

Hakluyt, quoted, 88, U1, 139. 

Hanno, his voyage, 29. 

Havti discovered, 203. 

Henrv VII., 101, 134, 136, 140, IVO, 180, 
188. 

Herculaneum, 21, 

Hercules, the magnet named for him, 44, 
47. 

Heretics, the tortures inflicted on them, 96. 

Herodotus, 4, 65. 

Herrera, quoted, 95, 121, 122, 133, 184, 
202, 208, 250, 275. 

Hindoos, their knowledge of astronomy, 
21 ; do. of the magnet, 42 ; their re- 
ligion, literature, etc., 63. 

Hipparchus, the Egyptian astronomer, 60. 

History, knowledge of, among the an- 
cients, 65 ; its true purposes and 
objects, 93, 96. 

Homar, grandeur of, 62. 

Horace, quoted, 36. 

Human race, older than biblical accounts, 
3. 

sacrifices, not practised by the Az- 
tecs, 19. 

Humboldt, quoted, 88. 

Iceland, 90. 

Icelandic language, 70. 

India, the cradle of astronomy, 22. 

Indians, of America, their first trading 



with white men, 83 ; they attack the 
Northmen, 84 ; Amerigo Vespucci'.? 
description of them, 115; method 
used to convert them to Christ, 154. 
367-370 ; their character described 
by Columbus, 186, 320; their con- 
duct at his landing, 199 ; Peter Mai'- 
tyr's account of their happy condi- 
tion, 203 ; they kindly receive Co- 
lumbus, 206, 320; a warlike tribe 
attacks him, 210 ; a number are 
taken to Spain by Columbus, 221 ; he 
professes to find cannibals among 
them, 229, 319 ; he proposes to en- 
slave them, 231 ; they murder the 
colony at La Navidad, 233 ; Spanish 
cruelties against them, 241 - 245 ; 
shocking cruelties by Columbus, 249, 
272 ; their sufferings, 251 ; enslave- 
ment of Indians, 255, 265, 351 ; a 
party meets Columbus in a canoe, 
317 ; he wheedles them by an eclipse 
of the moon, 338. 

Indian trade, first, 83. 

Inquisition, the, and Galileo, 25 ; it grants 
license for books, 93 ; tortures in- 
flicted on heretical authors by, 96 ; 
aided by Isabella, 99 ; its terrible 
cruelties in Spain, 100. 

Ireland, 72, 82. 

Irish said to have visited America, 86. 

Irving, Washington, quoted, 92, 95, 98, 
112, 123, 130, 136, 163, 175, 193, 197, 
199, 216, 220, 243, 247, 258, 279, 
282, 302, 305, 317, 357. 

Isabella, Queen of Spain, her character, 
97, 101, 111 ; her marriage to Ferdi- 
nand, 97 ; false eulogies on her " vir- 
tues," 99 ; aids the Inquisition in its 
cruel work, 99 ; confiscates the es- 
tates of condemned heretics, 100 ; re- 
tains De Puebla, a knave, as her 
agent, 103 ; bargains for the sale of 
her daughter, 103 ; haggles about 
passage-money of the latter to Eng- 
land, 105 ; her shameless menda- 
city, 106-109 ; an unnatural moth- 
er, 108 ; deception regarding the 
cost of her attire, 109 ; her portrait, 
110 ; her double dealing and hy- 
pocrisy, 111 ; her decree against voy- 
ages of discovery, 117; makes Co- 
lumbus her favorite, 126 ; declares 
him hei'editary grand-admiral, 171, 
224 ; the terms proposed by her to 
Columbus, 183 ; Isabella is induced 
by Perez and others to fit out Colum- 
bus, 188 ; the falsehood about pawn- 
ing her jewels, 189 ; the sovereigns 
receive Columbus on his return, 220, 
221 ; they reject his proposal to en- 



402 



INDEX. 



slave Indians, 232 ; determine to in- 
vestigate Columbus's government, 
252 ; Isabella sends out a colony of 
convicts with him, 256 ; the sover- 
eigns revoke Columbus's power, 273 ; 
she orders the enslaved Indians to be 
freed, 275 ; her policy encouraging 
Columbus, 296 ; gives him a sigiiiti- 
cant hint, 313 ; her death, 344. 
Italy, her ancient architecture, 15. 

Jamaica discovered, 242. 

Job, mentions printing, 60. 

Josephus, his account of the ancients, 2, 

66. 
Justiniani's "Psalter" condemned to be 

burned, 94-96. 

Karlsefne, a Northman, 79, 84. 
Katherine, Princess, complains of her pov- 
erty, 108. 
Kingsborough, Lord, quoted, 93. 

Las Casas, quoted, 121, 154, 214, 223, 

244, 283, 312; 
Leif, son of Eric the Red, 74, 77, 79, 86. 
Libraries among the Arabs, 66. 
Literature among the ancients, 62. 
Lithography mentioned by Job, 60, 
Loadstone {see Magnet). 
Lot, 28. 
Love, symbolized by the magnet, 42. 

Madoc, Prince, 88. 

Magnetic needle, known to the ancients, 31 ; 
known to Friar Bacon, 39 ; described 
by Claudian, 40 ; how termed in dif- 
ferent tongues, 42, 43 ; its use in the 
vcar 640, 49 ; known to the Chinese 
2700 B. c, 52-54. 

Magnifying lens known to ancients, 5 ; 
one constructed by Friar Bacon, 38. 

Manou, quoted, 63. 

Marco Polo, quoted, 203. 

Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, 98. 

huckstering between royal families, 

104. 

Martyr, Peter, quoted, 128, 203, 220, 223, 
281, 283. 

Measurement, ancient standard of, 9, 11. 

Medici, house of, 114. 

Mendez, Diego, 331, 338, 341. 

Mexico, 16. 

Moses, 14, 63. 

Mount Hope, a Norske name, 83. 

Moxica, a Spaniard, murdered by Colum- 
bus, 270, 271. 

Navigation, decree concerning, in Spain, 

119. 
practised by the ancients, 25, 30. 



Nebuchadnezzar's palace, 4. 

Newfoundland, 73, 78, 135. 

Nineveh, ruins of, 2, 14. 

Noah's ark, 30. 

Northmen, not the first to discover Amcr- 
ica, 19, 69 ; their early use of the 
compass, 33, 40 ; they land in Amer- 
ica, 69, 73 ; their motives in coming 
to America, 70 ; their geographical 
knowledge, 71 ; name America Vine- 
land, 76 ; introduce Christianity into 
Greenland, 77 ; other expeditious, 78- 
80 ; their character and acts, 86, 87. 

Norway, 70. 

Nova Scotia, landing-place of the North- 
men, 73-80. 

Oderigo, Nicolo de, 309, 310. 
Odometer, used by ancient Chinese, 54. 
Ojeda, Alonzo de, 238, 247, 268. 
Ovando, Nicolas de, 297-301, 315, 339, 

341, 342, 380. 
Oxford, England, 35, 36. 

Palmyra (Tadmor), ruins of, 5. 

Palos, Spanish seaport, 187, 188, 190, 
218. 

Papal infalhbility, 94. 

Paschal chronicle, 4. 

Perez, Juan, 129, 130, 167, 179, 181, 188. 

Persians, their religion, 3. 

Petrarch, 37. 

Pharaoh Necho, 25-29. 

Philip IL, 171. 

Phoenicians, the, extent of their com- 
merce, 19-28 ; they used the com- 
pass, 44. 

Pinzon, Martin Alonzo, and Vincent Ta- 
nez, 117, 129; Columbus engages 
their attention, 13i); they aid him in 
his expedition, 130, 182-190; are 
entitled to the credit of its success, 
131 ; accused of desertion by Colum- 
bus, 133, 203, 218 ; are raised to the 
rank of nobility, 133. 

Piracy practised by Columbus, 146, 149. 

Plato, refers to the New World, 26 ; his 
teachings, 65. 

Polar Star, four thousand years ago, 13. 

Pompeii, 27. 

Pope, places full faith in Columbus, 94. 

Pope Alexander VI., 94. 

Porras, Francis de, 335, 341, 342. 

Pork, eating of, forbidden, 63. 

Portugal, King of, 118, 140, 178. 

Prescott's " Spanish Conquest," 15, 99. 

Printing, mentioned by Job, 60. 

Ptolemy, Claudius, 23, 25, 46. 

Public-school system, known five hundred 
years u. c, 66. 

Publishing books in Spain, 93, 95. 



INDEX. 



403 



Purchas, quoted, 89, 90, 168. 

Pyramids, ruins of, 6, their object, *? ; 

explored by Caliph al Mamoun, 9, 10. 
Pythagoras, understood the solar system, 

23. 

Piafn, Professor, 71. 

Religion, crimes committed in its name, 

165. 
Eoldau, Francisco, his rebellion, 263, 316. 
Romance tongue, SY. 
Rome, ruins of, 15. 
Ruins of ancient cities, 2, 4, 5, 15. 

in Central America, 16. 

in Mexico, similar to Egyptian, 19. 

Saint Ambrose, quoted, 48. 

Saint Paul, 30. 

Saint Peter, 4. 

San Domingo, discovered, 229. 

San Salvador, discovered, 199. 

Sanchez, Alonzo, a pilot, 132, 162, 164, 
166, 168, 176, 179, 185. 

Sesostris, 30. 

Slave-trade, Columbus engaged in, 149. 

seeks to restore it in the West In- 
dies, 230. 

Smith, J. Toulmin, quoted, 71. 

Smyth, Professor C. Piazzi, royal astron- 
omer, etc., 7, 8, and note, 9. 

Socrates, 65. 

Solis, Juan, 117. 

Solomon, his song, 62. 

Southey, quoted, 89. 

Spain, court of, loose morals, 99 ; royal 
decree concerning navigators, 119 ; 
objects to English explorations, 140 ; 
Arabs aided its learning and science, 
182. 

Spaniards, etc., did not discover America, 
19 ; their ancient libraries, 67; their 
laws concerning histories, 93. 

Sphinx, the, 6. 

Strabo, 15. 

Strada, quoted, 61. 

Suit, by Diego Columbus, against the 
crown, 373. 

Sweden, 70. 

Syphilis, its origin, etc., 358. 

Tacitus, quoted, 72. 

Tadmor (Palmyra), ruins of, 2. 

Talmud, quoted, 63. 

Telegraphing known to the ancients, 62. 

Telescope, "invented by Roger Bacon, 38. 

Thebes, ruins of, 5. 

Thorhall, a Xorthraan, 80-82. 



Thorwald, a Northman, 77-86. 
Time, measurement of, in the Pyramids, 12. 
Torquemada, grand-inquisitor, 99. 
Tortures inflicted on heretical authors, 96. 
Toscanella, the astronomer, 157, 174. 
Trading with Indians, by Northmen, 83. 
Trichina spiralis, known to the ancients, 

63. 
Truth the great object of history, 93. 
Tyre, 28. 

Vedas, quoted, 63. 

Venereal {see Syphilis). 

Venezuela, discovered by Vespucci, 115. 

Venice, Zeni brothers' expedition from, 
90 ; merchants of, arrested, etc. 

Vespucci, Amerigo, 113 ; his nativity, etc., 
114; enters a commercial life, 114; 
King Ferdinand confides in his abili- 
ty, 114, 126; his first voyage, 115; 
Venezuela and its natives described 
by him, 115 ; a man of intellect and 
science, 117, 126 ; his second voyage 
in 1499, 117 ; his crew maltreated by 
Columbus's crew, 117; enters the 
service of the King of Portugal, 118 ; 
• his subsequent voyages and explora- 
tions, 118, 268 ; reenters the service 
of Spain, 118, 123; office of pilot- 
major conferred on him, 119 ; com- 
manded to make a standard chart, 
119 ; his death, 120; his modesty re- 
garding his own claims, 120; Amer- 
ica named after him, 121 ; his dis- 
coveries belittled after his death, 122; 
Columbus's opinion i-egarding him, 
122 ; the honor done to his memory 
in Italy, 124; his portrait, 125; not 
called as a witness in the suit of Co- 
lumbus's heirs vs. the crown, 376. 

Vineland, America so named by North- 
men, 76. 

Virginity of a princess, correspondence 
touching the, 103. 

Volney, his "Ruins" quoted, 6. 

Weights and measures, ancient, 11. 
Welsh exploration of America, 88. 
Western Hemisphere known to the an- 
cients, 26. 

Xenophou, 66. 

Yucatan, mines in, 17. 

Zeni brothers, Nicolo and Antonio, ex- 
plorers, etc., 88-90. 



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